The road to the state championship literally went through Moanalua this year.
Punahou defied all odds, rallying from match point in Set 4 to stun nationally ranked, top-seeded Moanalua 25-22, 21-25, 20-25, 27-25, 15-11 in the semifinals of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championships.
Nine-time defending state champion Punahou faced match point at 24-21 in Set 4, stifling Moanalua outside hitter Kai Rodriguez during an epic comeback. In the end, Punahou’s aggressive serve was an iota better, and the balance of the Buffanblu attack proved clutch in front of a packed house at Moanalua’s gym.
“We competed. This team has tons of heart,” Punahou coach Rick Tune said. “This team’s been through battles all year. We told them, every moment has prepared you for this moment right here. You saw their composure. We have the heart of a champion, I’ll tell you that right now. You have to put a silver bullet through the middle of our head to take us out.”
Kahale Clini led ILH runner-up Punahou with 20 kills (.267), adding two aces and eight digs. Moanalua limited the Buffanblu to a .173 hitting percentage, but Punahou avoided the issues with serve that plagued it early in the season, committing just 12 service errors.
“I feel amazing right now. All we’ve done throughout the season is start slow in the beginning. We love five-setters,” Clini said. “We know how to deal with the pressure coming into the fifth set, so this is nothing new for us. We knew what was on the line and we kept fighting, 100%.”
Evan Porter (.258) and Ian Kinney (.175) added 14 kills each, while middle Adam Haidar had three kills and two blocks. Elijah Smith dished 31 assists and freshman Kanalu Akana had 18 assists. Matthew Chun had a team-high 16 digs.
The Buffanblu (17-5 overall) will meet their nemesis, top-seeded Kamehameha, for the crown tonight at Cannon Activities Center on the BYU-Hawaii campus. The teams played six times during the ILH season, splitting it down the middle with three wins each.
“We’ve played Kamehameha I don’t know how many times. It’s nothing new. We know exactly what we we’re going to do. Moanalua is definitely the hardest step for us. We know how to play Kamehameha and we know how to beat them,” Clini said.
Moanalua (34-4) came into the match ranked No. 3 in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings.
Justin Todd led Moanalua with 22 kills (.255) and Rodriguez had 20 kills (.244). Zack Yewchuk and Keola DeMello chipped in five kills each, while Malu Wilcox had 28 assists and AJ Matsumoto had 20 assists. Kaden Sato had a team-high 12 digs.
With three signees to the University of Hawaii’s national powerhouse program — Rodriguez, Todd and Yewchuk — Moanalua had run the table in the OIA. However, Na Menehune had not been seriously challenged since losing to Punahou in the final of the Clash of the Titans on April 8.
“I’m all right. It sucks to lose, but we gave it our all and they won,” Rodriguez said. “That’s it. This is the best way to lose, leaving everything on the court.”
Todd had 11 digs and one ace.
“We just got better all together this year. Our team improved more than I ever thought we would,” he said. “We put it all out on the floor.”
Punahou is rarely in the underdog role, but had a 1-0 match lead and a 20-15 edge in Set 2 before Moanalua woke up and took control.
“Second set was huge. They took the wind out of our sails. We should have won, put the nail in the coffin and be done, right? We didn’t emotionally recover until the fourth set,” Tune said.
Trailing 24-21 in Set 4, it seemed to be all but done for Punahou. Moanalua called time out a moment later with a 24-22 lead.
“We sat down (during a timeout) and they said, ‘Coach, we know.’ Let’s get out of it because this isn’t who we are,” Tune said. “Don’t worry about winning or losing. It’s this point right here. Compete like heck on this point.”
The Buffanblu dug down and got a kill from Kinney and a hitting error by Rodriguez, and tied it at 24 on a kill by Clini. A block by Kinney on Rodriguez gave Punahou a 25-24 lead. Moanalua tied at 25 on a back-row kill by Todd, but Kinney and Clini clutched up with kills to send the match to a fifth set.
In Set 5, Punahou rallied from a 7-5 deficit. A two-handed push kill by Clini gave Punahou an 11-10 lead, and an ace by Smith opened the lead to two points. Moanalua got no closer than one point the rest of the way.
Na Menehune stayed in the locker room for an extended period. There were tears for the close-knit team, but they were composed after emerging from their post-match chat.
“I’m going to remember how awesome these players are. They’re so amazing on and off the court,” Rodriguez said. “These friendships are going to last a lifetime. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
