This time around, Punahou returned the favor.
One year after being swept out of the state tournament in the quarterfinals, Punahou ousted second-seeded Kamehameha-Hawaii 25-18, 25-18, 25-17 to advance into the finals of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships.
ILH runner-up Punahou (30-5) will face ILH champion and top seed Kamehameha for the crown at 7 tonight at BYU-Hawaii’s Cannon Activities Center.
Also at Cannon Activities Center, Kamehameha-Hawaii (28-6) will play MIL champion Baldwin for third place at 3 p.m.
Haumea Marumoto continued her peak-performance week, drilling 14 kills despite facing double blocks.
“I started off slow so I knew I had to bounce back. I did my best to control what I could control,” she said. “We’ve all grown as players and we want it. We’re playing together. We love volleyball and we’re playing the best we can.”
Rella Binney dished 37 assists, adding two kills and an ace. Lulu Uluave finished with 12 kills and two blocks, continuing a comeback from a stress fracture in her leg. During the ILH tournament, Uluave played libero, but returned to outside hitting duties this week.
“The pain is always going to be there. I’m just icing, roiling it out and warming up better. The adrenaline just kicks in,” Uluave said. “I get home and have an ice bath. I rather not sit out or rest it.”
Buffanblu coach Tita Ahuna has watched her team evolve into a new entity since the ILH season ended.
“Haumea just did fantastic. To me, it all happened because our middles were going up strong and that left a little hole in the block, and Haumea just took advantage of it,” Ahuna said. “Lulu’s just strong-willed. She’s going to play her heart out. That’s just Lulu.”
Opposite Kealohalani Cox was clutch with seven kills, while middle Evelyn Kilisi chipped in three kills and libero Reese Teves tallied three aces. Punahou’s serve was a problem for Kamehameha-Hawaii all night.
“We made too many mistakes,” Kamehameha-Hawaii coach Guy Enriques said. “I’m happy with these kids. They did pretty good. I’m happy we got this far. We struggled a little bit, but we have inexperience. We showed some heart and didn’t give up.”
Last year, the Warriors swept Punahou 25-12, 25-22, 27-25, then edged Kahuku in five sets 24-26, 14-25, 25-23, 25-5, 15-11 to reach the final. Kamehameha-Hawaii then lost to ‘Iolani 25-18, 25-17, 25-22.
“I think Punahou is more steady now. It’s hard to say with us. We didn’t have as much firepower,” Enriques said. “We have some new kids and they did fine. It’s a new experience for them.”
Punahou will meet at Kamehameha squad that defeated the Buffanblu four times in a row to close the ILH season. Instead of crumbling, the Buffanblu sharpened their tools and have played their best volleyball of the season during states.
“Our passing was pretty good tonight. We got to run our middles a lot, which kind of opened it up for our big guns,” Ahuna said.
Punahou beat Kamehameha early in the regular season before falling to the Warriors in their next four battles.
“They’re a great team. They got better throughout the season. We’ll see what happens, what team comes out victorious. We’re going to battle tomorrow, no doubt about it.”
Punahou is going after its 10th state title in girls volleyball.
Maela Honma led Kamehameha-Hawaii with 10 kills while Cayla Carter added seven. Malie Kuamoo dished 21 assists.
The Buffanblu began the match with a 9-5 lead as Marumoto and Uluave picked up where they left off. Kamehameha-Hawaii got kills from Honma and a roof by Carter to tie it at 12, but never took the lead.
It was 18-all when Cox racked up three kills as the Buffanblu closed the set with a 7-0 run.
Uluave had relatively quiet second set (three kills), but relentless defense stifled the Warriors. Honma saw double blocks often, and Marumoto delivered five kills. Cox again added three right-side kills as Punahou opened a 9-2 lead and coasted.
Kamehameha-Hawaii got within 12-11 on back-to-back aces by Camryn Grace, but the Buffanblu closed game two with a 13-7 run.
The Warriors had a brief lead, 4-2, to begin Set 3, but Punahou chipped away. After consecutive service errors by Kamehameha-Hawaii, Marumoto’s kill gave Punahou an 11-10 lead. The Warriors never recovered.
Punahou kept feeding Marumoto, who consistently hit over Kamehameha-Hawaii’s double block. She added two more kills during the 9-4 run, opening the lead to 17-12.
