For four straight years, Punahou did not have what it took to play deep into the season. That negative streak is history. On Friday night, the Buffanblu rolled past Mililani in three sets in the Division I semifinals of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships.
With the 25-22, 25-12, 25-20 sweep in hand, the third-ranked Buffanblu (13-2) move on to the final tonight at Blaisdell Arena against arch-rival and top-ranked Kamehameha. It’s the farthest Punahou has gone since 2014, the last time it hoisted the state banner.
>> Click here to see photos of the match between Punahou and Mililani.
The Buffanblu want to take it one step farther in what is expected to be an intense contest tonight. The ILH rival Warriors have won two out of three in head-to-head matchups this season, including a sweep for the ILH championship. The Warriors are also owners of two out of the past four state crowns.
“Oh man, it’s a dream,” Punahou coach Tanya Fuamatu-Anderson said after Friday’s win. “It’s a goal we had set, so I’m elated … and even more elated for the girls. I think back to February when we started; we didn’t start in the summer, because we knew we had to put the work in. We didn’t necessarily expect to be here. We were focused on winning every day, first things first.”
The Buffanblu got immense play from middles Grace Fiaseu (10 kills, four blocks) and Isabelle Iosua (five kills, four blocks), hitter Kaia Dunford (12 kills) and setter Jaclyn Matias (35 assists).
Matias was the second-string setter for most of the season behind Chloe Kaahanui until getting the start in a quarterfinal win over Kamehameha-Hawaii on Thursday and again on Friday.
OIA champion Mililani (15-1) went down for the first time all season. The Trojans have never won a state championship, but have been in the semifinals five times in the past nine years, but has never reached the final.
Falanika Danielson led the Mililani attack with a match-high 18 kills. Aria Miller delivered nine kills, and sister Aysia Miller had 26 assists.
“They (the Buffanblu) are a great team and size matters,” Trojans coach Val Crabbe said. “Not everybody wants to hear that, but at some point, it matters. Our girls did fine.”
On printed rosters, Mililani’s tallest player is listed at 5 feet 10 and Punahou has eight players 5-11 or taller.
The height will help against Kamehameha (three players 5-10 or more), but mind-set might mean more.
“It’s all a mental game when we play them,” the Buffanblu’s Iosua said. “We beat them the first time we played them and we were all together. The second and third time (losses), we were mentally down. We’re ready to take them on. It’s about being confident in yourself and your team and knowing you can do it. It’s important to stay in the zone.”
