Jack Deuchar drilled 13 kills as unseeded Punahou swept Castle 25-9, 25-15, 25-19 on Monday night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse in the New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championships.
Robert Allen added 10 kills and two blocks, Jakob Kimura tallied eight kills and Kawai Hong added five kills and an ace. Connor McInerny dished 25 assists and Keegan Au Yuen had 10 assists.
The opening-round win lifts Punahou, the seven-time defending state champion, into a quarterfinal matchup with third-seeded Kamehameha-Hawaii, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion. Punahou (13-4) and KS-Hawaii (14-1) will meet on Thursday at 5 p.m., at Radford’s James Alegre Gymnasium.
“It’s step one. I like the fact we were able to play a lot of guys, we were able to see different things on the court that we haven’t been able to see in game situations, things we’ve been working on all week,” Punahou coach Rick Tune said. “Castle is young and well-coached, and they fight all the time, which is the most important thing for a young team.”
Punahou got consistent serve-receive from its back row, which was led by Shea Suzumoto and Davis Lau.
“We played them in the Longy (Okimoto) tournament, so we took what we learned the first time around,” said Suzumoto, a senior.
Kamalei Albinio led Castle (11-5) with six kills and two blocks. Punahou got a chance to play its entire bench, though Castle never surrendered. The visiting Knights used a 10-5 run in the third set to open a four-point lead.
Albinio roofed Deuchar to give Castle a 7-6 lead. Setter Jayden Matsumoto’s dump and a kill by Albinio helped the Knights open a 15-11 lead.
After a timeout, the Buffanblu responded with an 8-0 run. Deuchar’s kill pushed them ahead 16-15. Then came a right-side kill by Kimura (eight kills), another kill by the 6-7 Deuchar, and a roof by Claudio Clini on Albinio. Punahou led 19-15 and never lost momentum again.
“Punahou is always the team to beat. They set the precedent for every program,” Knights coach Pat Gomes-Woolsey said. “We walked in here and we knew we’d have a battle on our hands. It’s a little sad the season is over. When it came down to it, this team has great heart. We’re young, so we’ll be back with an experienced group next year.”
“We did a nice job tonight, but we’re going to have to execute even better,” Tune said. “We had a lot of mental lapses.”
Hilo 3, Leilehua 1
Kaala Deitch put down 20 kills and Cy Alicuben had 36 of the team’s 38 assists as the Vikings defeated the Mules 25-17, 19-25, 25-22, 25-16 at Hilo.
Hilo will face top-seeded ‘Iolani in a quarterfinal match at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Moanalua gym.
Timaye Tatupu had 13 kills and Kahakai Kahoiwai 12 for the Mules.
Mililani 3, Lahainaluna 0
Caleb Pascual had 10 kills and Troy Kato added 25 assists as the Trojans defeated the host Lunas 25-19, 25-23, 25-10.
Mililani advances to play No. 2 seed Moanalua in a quarterfinal match at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Radford gym.
Kalaheo 3, Farrington 0
Liam York had 18 kills and Tyler Wemple 11 as the Mustangs cruised past the Governors 25-14, 25-18, 25-16 at Kalaheo.
Kalaheo will play Kamehameha-Maui in a quarterfinal at 5 p.m. on Thursday at Moanalua.
