In the wonderful world of ILH competition, many journeys require heartbreak and pain.

Even in an exhibition tournament, the ILH is making an impact on the OIA’s best program.

The gauntlet of ILH boys volleyball — and the fixation on constant competition with the best opponents possible — was a three-way war among Kamehameha, ‘Iolani and Punahou in the regular season. Kamehameha emerged in first place, earning an automatic state-tournament berth.

‘Iolani had its moments of powerful, leak-free performance.

Punahou? The mostly young squad endured highs and lows, then had its chance to move into a first-place tie with Kamehameha on the last day of the regular season, only to lose a five-setter because of 31 service errors.

The anguish of that loss didn’t have to linger.

Simple math revealed that reducing those giveaway points would elevate Punahou’s ceiling, possibly more than any team in the ILH.

“We’ve got to hit the numbers. We talk about where we’re not hitting the numbers and when we are hitting the numbers, and we’re doing well in a lot of different categories,” Tune said. “We’ve had too many service errors and too many bad third-contacts. We needed more quality, and we saw that tonight.”

The Buffanblu took care of business at the back line. With only 18 service errors in a 25-23, 30-32, 27-29, 25-23, 15-10 win over nationally ranked Moanalua on Saturday in the final of the Clash of the Titans, they took a giant step forward. Not a single Punahou coach was surprised.

“Two great teams out there. Moanalua is fantastic. They’re other-worldly. We had to play really steady, consistent ball to even have a shot at them. We did enough tonight to make it happen,” Punahou coach Rick Tune said.

Senior Kahale Clini and freshman Kanalu Akana made the most visible changes at serve, tempering their usual spray of fastballs by using more off-speed deliveries. Their use of what would translate to sliders in baseball curtailed those runs of freebie points for opposing teams.

“I think just in practice this past week, we saw that when we played Kamehameha, we had over 60 errors in hitting and serving, so this week we made sure that we’ve got to keep everything in, more consistent and once we do that, this what happens for us,” Clini said.

In fact, Punahou had four or fewer service errors in every set against Moanalua with one exception — six in a long 32-30 second game.

“That could be because they’re gassed, too. They played a lot of volleyball over two days and it’s 10:30 at night, but we did talk about the importance of when it’s 20-20, keeping the ball in play. Putting the pressure on the other team,” Tune said. “We’ve got to be able to do both. Before, we were just going for aces all the time. We had a long talk and that’s not what we want. We want constant pressure. Our numbers in this tournament are right where we want them in terms of serving, in terms of ace-to-error ratio, percentage in.”

As a team, Punahou had 11 aces while limiting Moanalua to just two. The absence of injured libero Kaden Sato was clearly a factor for Na Menehune (27-3), but Punahou handled the big test on both ends of serve accordingly.

“We had to keep fighting and battle back. We kept pushing,” Clini said.

Kahale, of all players, probably could’ve used the Easter weekend to rest his legs. Since returning from a training stint with the national team, the season has been a whirlwind of matches, practices and homework. Instead, the Clash of the Titans was a pivotal moment for Punahou, a chance to regain confidence between the end of the regular season and the post-season.

The Buffanblu rallied past No. 17-ranked Mira Costa 18-25, 25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13 on Friday night, and posted sweeps over Kamehameha-Hawaii and Bishop O’Dowd. Clini got a break against KS-Hawaii, resting while his teammates swept the Warriors.

In the title match with Moanalua, the No. 6-ranked team in the nation, Clini finished with 18 kills, three aces and five blocks. He also had just five service errors. Freshmen setters Akana (27 assists, ace) and Elijah Smith (29 assists, two aces) clutched up. The balanced attack benefited from the efficiency of middle James Taras, who had nine kills and only one hitting error in 22 attempts.

Punahou will visit ‘Iolani on Tuesday in a second-place tiebreaker match. With only one more state berth available in the ILH, positioning in the standings and the playoff tournament is crucial.

“We’re eager to prove that our first-round play is not us. That’s not our full form. We have so much room to grow. Against Kamehameha, 66 (combined hitting and service) errors. What you saw tonight is a team taking a step in that direction,” Tune said.

Meanwhile, Moanalua’s performance in the Clash final was good enough to beat close to 100 percent of Hawaii teams. It was the first true test for Moanalua in several weeks, and the effect will likely be the same as it is for ILH powerhouses. Fail, adapt and evolve — or get left behind. If ever a loss was a blessing in disguise, this may be true for Na Menehune.

Inspiration abounds for state title contenders. For Clini, added motivation came from senior night at the Clash of the Titans.

“Tonight was for the seniors. That was my goal for tonight. Ian Kinney, Jack Lyons and Marsden Sasaki,” he said. “I played this game for them.”