Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, champs.
The Kamehameha Warriors did it again, rising from third place in the regular season to topple No. 1 Punahou 25-15, 25-17, 25-16 on Friday night and capture the Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls volleyball championship at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.
A packed house saw Kamehameha (12-2) seal the title. Both teams had already qualified, along with Le Jardin, for the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball Division I State Championships, which begin on Oct. 21.
Back on Monday, Kamehameha swept Mid-Pacific in the first round of the ILH playoffs. On Tuesday, the Warriors rallied from a 2-0 deficit to oust ‘Iolani to reach the state tournament for the 18th year in a row under coach Chris Blake. Then came a four-set win at Le Jardin, the “quadrant 1” winner on Wednesday.
Kamehameha had to win four matches in a span of five days to make this season’s league crown happen. Six-foot-2 sophomore Devin Kahahawai led the Warriors with 14 kills, while senior Keonilei Akana drilled 10 kills, had one ace and was part of an air-tight back row that consistently frustrated Punahou’s heavy hitters.
“We were able to serve really tough, which forced them into some tough spots. I’m really proud of our girls and the way they came through,” Blake said. “We had to fight through a lot of things to get to this spot. Our girls came out sharp and their execution was really good. They were hungry.
“Punahou is so physical. Their coaching staff and the amount of coaches they have over there, I know they’re going to get ready (for states).”
Libero Tara De Sa continued to play some of the best back-row defense seen statewide this season.
“It was a great team win,” Blake said. “Part of it came down to leadership.
“Tara did a great job in the back row. Keonilei did so much and gave her leadership, (middle) Longi (Sua-Godinet) in the middle, they all know what their roles are and what it takes for us to play better.”
Maui Robins, another sophomore, tallied eight kills and three blocks, and Sua-Godinet added eight kills and two blocks in another balanced team effort by Kamehameha.
Punahou’s only other loss of the season came three weeks ago against Kamehameha. Senior Madisyn Beirne led the Buffanblu (10-2) with seven kills. Kaia Dunford added six kills for the Buffanblu, who last played a week ago against Le Jardin.
“I think for us it was more mental,” Punahou coach Tanya Fuamatu-Anderson said. “This match, I chalk it up to our kids being young, and none of them ever being in this situation before. We magnified it, probably more than it should’ve been, and we didn’t take care of the basic fundamentals that got us this far.
“Kamehameha came in, the way they play defense, I didn’t quite see them play defense like that in the first two meetings we had. They wanted it, and when you play with heart like that, your body will do what you tell it to do.”
The visitors were so steady, Punahou never led in the match. Kamehameha opened the first set with a 4-0 lead, extended it to five, and was still ahead 16-13 before going on an 8-0 run to put the game out of reach.
In the second set, Punahou had it tied 1-all, but Kamehameha went on a 9-1 run and was never threatened. The Buffanblu had the third game tied twice, at 4-all and 5-all, before Kamehameha went on a 6-0 run behind two blocks by Robins. Punahou got no closer than three points the rest of the way.
