‘Iolani has been trying to crawl out of a hole for the past half-decade, and on Tuesday night Punahou gave it an idea on how to accomplish it.
The No. 3 Buffanblu shook off a loss in the first set to beat the No. 4 Raiders 20-25, 25-18, 25-17 at ‘Iolani.
Punahou and Kamehameha have represented the ILH in each of the past five state tournaments, while ‘Iolani has pushed them to those heights but stayed home at tourney time.
That experience was most evident in the respective huddles after ‘Iolani’s win in the first set. The Raiders took a set off Punahou in an earlier match and became the first Hawaii team to take one from No. 1 Kamehameha on Saturday.
While Raiders coach Kainoa Obrey took the opportunity to remind his girls that the match wasn’t over, Punahou boss Tanya Fuamatu-Anderson simply echoed the words of her captains.
"I really didn’t have to say much to them," Fuamatu-Anderson said. "A lot of it was them — they were in the huddle and saying all of the right things, and basically I came in and reiterated the same things. We didn’t have to play perfect, we just had to take advantage of the opportunities that were presented to us. They knew."
Whoever did most of the talking in Punahou’s huddle, McKenna Rose Granato certainly listened.
Granato was held to one kill and one error in the losing first set, but exploded for eight kills with only one error in the second and seven kills with four errors in the third. She was just as effective on defense, flying around digging up everything she got her hands on.
"I guess I just wanted it for our team," Granato said. "I wanted us to bring it. We wanted it equally in all three games, but we just put it together in the second."
The Raiders took the first set with a balanced offense behind six kills by Sara Watanabe and nine kills from four others. The Raiders trailed the first set 18-11 before reeling off five straight points on kills by four different players and took the lead 20-19 when Punahou’s Sydney Fangoa hit long. ‘Iolani took off from there and closed out the Buffanblu on successive kills by Amnesty Dawson.
Watanabe finished the match with 13 kills and Dawson and Anna Uhr each had seven.
Punahou recovered to win the second set when it went on a 14-6 run to blow open an 8-8 game. Granato had five kills in the stretch, including four in a row to turn an 11-9 lead into 15-9. ‘Iolani never threatened after that, and Kiani Tuileta closed it out with a kill off a sprawling save by Granato.
"We were able to get the ball to her a little more and it worked out for us," Fuamatu-Anderson said. "She definitely is our big swinger, so we have to be creative in getting the ball to her. It wasn’t just her, though, it was the entire team as well. It was definitely a team effort and I am super proud of them."
‘Iolani pushed Punahou again in the third set, trailing 10-9 before Granato and Remo Gaogao caught fire to run away with it. Gaogao had six kills in the final set and Granato ended it with a roof of Watanabe.
Punahou (8-2) is off until Tuesday, when it visits Maryknoll. ‘Iolani (6-4, with two losses each to Kamehameha and Punahou) gets the same break to prepare for a visit from No. 1 Kamehameha.
"We have to find a way," Obrey said. "As coaches, we will find a way, and as our kids get more and more in these types of situations, hopefully the one time we crack it, it will have a downhill effect and avalanche for us."
