The last time these two storied programs met, Kamehameha swept Punahou away on the Buffanblu’s home court.
This time, Punahou resisted for some time. Kamehameha prevailed again, rallying for a 21-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-21 win in the Division I final of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships on Saturday night at Blaisdell Arena.
This crown is the school’s 22nd and 10th under coach Chris Blake, who intermittently allowed his seniors to discuss key points during time outs all season long. Saturday night was no exception.
>> Click here to see photos of the match between Kamehameha and Punahou.
“We’re happy to be in this situation. We’ve been to state finals the last 17 years and we wouldn’t be able to do it without great staff and great players,” Blake said. “When it comes down to a situation like this when they’re down (1-0), they don’t need us talking to them. It’s time for them to do the things they need to do without being directed. I couldn’t be any more proud of our team. We wouldn’t be able to do any of those things without putting the work in at practice.”
The constant barrage of senior Keonilei Akana, and sophomores Devin Kahahawai and Maui Robins wore down Punahou. Akana finished with 22 kills and 11 digs.
“We wanted to make sure we took care of business and did our jobs,” the senior said. “Punahou gave it to us. They did a really great job. We told each other this could be our last time playing with each other. We could do amazing things if we finish the end game. It was calm in the huddle. Coach Chris gave us space to talk to each other as a team, which was great.”
The Buffanblu trailed 19-16 in the opening set, then rallied behind Kaia Dunford, Aleah Liilii and Grace Fiaseu.
Punahou libero Haylie Marumoto took a rocket shot by Akana off her head in the second set, and the Buffanblu never seemed to be the same again. Akana closed out the game with a right-side kill to even the match, and Kamehameha led 13-7 in the third set, never losing the lead.
Robins finished with 13 kills, and Kahahawai had 15.
“It was definitely kind of hard. We saw Punahou multiple times after we swept them (in the ILH final), but it was different because they put new people in,” Robins said.
Bryanne Soares dished 50 assists and Tara De Sa had 28 digs for the Warriors (15-2).
Kaia Dunford led Punahou (13-3) with 14 kills and Grace Fiaseu added 10. Jaclyn Matias had 30 assists and Katharine Yoshimoto had 19 digs.
