Down 3-0 in the final set against Moanalua, the proud Buffanblu of Punahou needed a moment to re-calibrate.

“We needed a war like this,” coach Rick Tune said after his squad rallied for a wild 22-25, 25-18, 25-19, 21-25, 15-5 victory over Moanalua in the semifinals of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championships.

Seven-time defending state champion Punahou (15-4) will meet ILH champion and top-seeded ‘Iolani in the final at Blaisdell Center.

“Our team responded really well. We haven’t learned to this point how to close a team out,” Tune added. “We had those two overpasses and I called time out. We needed the right emotional response, and once they did that, they were a different team. They were aggressive instead of passive.”

The Buffanblu did it at the net, registering six blocks against Na Menehune in the fifth game. Braxdon Simmons had 3.5 of the roofs as Moanalua (14-2) continuously went to their heavy hitters, Max Slaughter and DiAeris McRaven.

“Those are two great hitters, and we have two more tomorrow in Kawika (Lee) and Kupono (Browne),” Tune said.

Punahou was up to the task despite a raucous home crowd at Moanalua that energized Na Menehune early on, then again in the fourth game.

“We kind of picked it up from the second set, then we got complacent in the fourth set,” Simmons said.

Na Menehune hung around in the third set, but Kawai Hong’s ace landed in the right corner, giving Punahou a 23-18 cushion.

Down 2-1, Moanalua’s home crowd came alive and Na Menehune followed suit. McRaven’s smash on an overpass gave the home team a 10-8 lead. After a right-side kill by McRaven, they led 13-11.

With Slaughter at serve moments later, McRaven deposited a kill on another overpass to give Moanalua a 19-15 lead en route to the Game 4 win.

Then came the 3-0 Moanalua jump-start in the final set as Slaughter capitalized with two kills.

Then came a roof by Jakob Kimura. With Hong at serve, Jack Deuchar came through with a kill on an overpass. After blocks by Kimura and Simmons, the game was tied at 4, and then Kimura came through with a kill to give Punahou the lead for good.

Simmons blocked Slaughter on the right side, and after another kill by Deuchar, it was 7-4 and Moanalua called time out.

Cory Tharp’s right-side kill cut it to 7-5, and then it was all Punahou.

A Simmons kill, a setting error and another Deuchar kill on an overpass, and it was 10-5. Then came a Deuchar kill, and an ace by Keegan Au Yuen. The Buffanblu closed out the set and the match with kills by Simmons on McRaven, by Claudio Clini on McRaven, and then Simmons and Clini on a back-row try by Slaughter for the match.

Deuchar, a 6-foot-7 junior, finished with 22 kills. Kimura and Hong added 12 kills each, and Shea Suzumoto led the strong back-row defense with 18 digs. Robert Allen finished with nine kills.

Slaughter led all attackers with 30 kills in 69 swings. McRaven, a 6-5 junior, added 13 kills. Barron Paikai had a team-high 10 digs.

“If we can carry this momentum over, our team really feeds off of energy,” Simmons said.

DIVISION II

St. Francis 3, Seabury Hall 1

Defending champion St. Francis (16-3) rallied for a 23-25, 25-20, 25-14, 26-24 win over MIL champion Seabury Hall to reach the Division II final. The Saints, playing at home for the final time, got 15 kills, four aces and nine digs from Lucas Biondi. Makua Marumoto also had 15 kills along with three aces. Jesus Garcia doled out 36 assists.

Kala‘i Anderson paced Seabury Hall with 11 kills. Thomas Russell came up with 10 digs and Zack Burkett had 21 assists plus six kills.

Kapaa 3, University 0

The second-seeded Warriors swept the Junior ’Bows 25-20, 25-19, 25-18 in the early semifinal match at St. Francis gym. Kiran Costa pounded 19 kills and Pomai Rabago-Kaiwi hustled for 12 digs as Kapaa remained unbeaten at 14-0. Rusdan-Rocket Ahuna delivered 35 assists. The Warriors are chasing their first D-II state title since 2005.

Isaiah Kalima-Izumi and Koby Tano led ULS (14-5) with six kills apiece.