No. 1 Punahou tops No. 3 ‘Iolani in girls volleyball

Once again, versatility is a crucial tool for Punahou.

Haumea Marumoto tallied 20 kills and Koen Makaula added 11 kills with two blocks as Punahou outlasted third-ranked ‘Iolani 25-21, 19-25, 25-23, 26-24 on Tuesday night before a raucous audience at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

‘Iolani did what it could to send the match into a fifth set but fell short. Punahou trailed 21-16 in the fourth set before rallying.

“After a while, we started talking about what it would take to win the game,” Buffanblu coach Tita Ahuna said. “At this point, you guys know how to play the game. You have the skill to win. We just have to dig deep inside, play with lots of heart, and it showed. We needed them to show up with heart. We needed to fight for every single point. We needed to celebrate. Most of all, we needed to stick together in order to pull that off because ‘Iolani’s a great team.”

It was a wild way to begin the season for Punahou, which got a freshly minted No. 1 ranking from coaches and media in the Star-Advertiser Girls Volleyball Top 10 on Monday.

“It’s good to get the first one under your belt,” Ahuna said. “Both teams fought hard. ‘Iolani’s a great team, well coached. I love going to battle with ‘Iolani. They’re just an awesome team.”

Marumoto was relentless, while libero Melie Vaioleti was a digging machine in the back row. Vaioleti also came through with three of Punahou’s five aces.

Ahuna also credited Makaula, a senior who has been a shape-shifter of sorts when it comes to versatility on the court. Makaula’s consistency was crucial. She hit .409 for the match.

“We really fought at the end. We played as a team. No matter the score, we knew how to fight back,” said Makaula, who is committed to Nevada. “We wanted to win more.”

Makaula had four kills in the fourth set, including one to bring the Buffanblu within 23-22. Marumoto eventually tied the set at 24.

With the Buffanblu up 25-24, ‘Iolani outside hitter Senna Roberts-Navarro was called for a lift.

‘Iolani was 7-2 in nonconference play entering its ILH regular-season opener. Roberts-Navarro finished with a team-high 20 kills. Brooke Naniseni tallied 17 kills and one ace, and middle Mari Lawton chipped in seven kills. Setter Maya Imoto- Eakin finished with 42 assists and two kills.

Punahou setter/outside hitter Rella Moon Binney amassed 30 assists, five kills and two aces. Cali-Jo Shigemasa added 17 assists, while Lulu Uluave and Ava Ahokovi had seven kills each.

Punahou came into the match 11-2 in nonconference play. The Buffanblu host defending state champion Kamehameha on Thursday.

“Throughout the match, we tried to get them out of system. When our serving was on par, we got them out of system, it helped us out a lot,” Ahuna said. “When we were easy on our serves, we served right at them, they came at us with a fury, and we couldn’t stop them. They were unstoppable.”