It took just an hour or so, and Punahou left no doubt.
Keau Thompson crushed nine kills and two aces, and Aidan Tune had nine kills as the Buffanblu swept Huntington Beach (Calif.) 25-19, 25-18 in the final of the Clash of the Titans boys volleyball tournament on Saturday night.
“Everything was there tonight. Pretty close to top level. I’d say 95 percent, that’s top level. The boys showed that they can get up for a big match,” coach Rick Tune said.
It started with consistent, quality serve-receive execution against the Oilers’ talented servers.
“Brayden Simmons, Aidan Tune, Riley Haine and a little bit of Keau Thompson, as well. They did a fantastic job. That was a big focus for us, serve-receive,” Tune noted. “(Huntington Beach) didn’t get easy points off their serve. They didn’t take us out of system.”
Thompson, like his teammates, had lei stacked up from his shoulders to the top of his head.
“I feel pretty good. It was a fun night,” the left-handed-hitting senior said. “It’s been hard this past week. I’ve been struggling with a sprained ankle, but tonight it was good. I’ve been rehabbing it all week, PT and getting it worked out. I’m just glad we could have a senior night like this after all this COVID (restrictions) and we get to celebrate with everybody.”
A polite senior-night crowd of around 600 enjoyed Punahou’s run to the crown. Coming into the tourney, Punahou is 11-0 in Interscholastic League of Honolulu play. In Pool A, the Buffanblu swept Francis Parker (Calif.) 27-25, 25-16, 25-21; Moanalua 25-12, 25-18, 25-19; and Kamehameha-Hawaii 25-20, 25-14, 25-23.
Huntington Beach took Pool B with wins over ‘Iolani (25-15, 25-14, 25-27, 15-8), Redondo Union (Calif.) (25-23, 25-21, 25-27, 26-24) and Kamehameha (25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 25-23).
Punahou’s run of victories without losing a set in the Clash came despite injuries to starters Thompson (ankle) and Haine (shin splints). Haine finished with three kills and one ace, and Teke Bower tallied three kills and two blocks. Senior setter Keegan Au Yuen was on point with 22 assists and one kill.
Au Yuen’s normally stoic countenance changed in the title match.
“I try to go into every single game with the same type of energy, but the crowd got me up extra. That’s what got me going today,” he said.
Aidan Tune was exceptionally airborne on Saturday, often rising above Huntington Beach’s blocks as Au Yuen set him at the top of the pin.
“I just had to recover my body a lot to get me to play today because I was hurting. Huntington Beach is a very good blocking teams, probably one of the best blocking teams we’ve faced so far,” Tune said. “It was a good challenge.”
Sophomore Ben Bray led the Oilers with six kills. Liam Phinizy and William Lawler chipped in four kills each, and Drew Bjork tallied three kills. Sophomore setter Jake Pazanti dished 20 assists with one kill.
Post-match was like a mini-graduation, with seniors swarmed by family and friends — a far cry from the sudden cancellation of the 2020 season and the protocol-restricted ’21 league season without a state tournament.
With Haine at less than 100 percent, he still drew attention from the Oilers, opening up the attack for his teammates.
“I took two Advils. I felt nice today,” the USC signee said. “I’m super proud of the boys.”
Huntington Beach took a quick 5-2 lead to begin the match, but Punahou rode the serving of Haine to take a 6-5 lead and never trailed again. The Buffanblu took command with a 14-7 run.
A block by 6-foot-6 Michael Rini helped the Oilers rally within 17-15, but they got no closer. Punahou closed the opening set with an 8-4 run, getting a block from Bower for a 1-0 lead in the match.
A roof by Thompson on Rini staked Punahou to a 6-2 lead in the second set, but Huntington Beach rallied to tie it at 8, and again at 9. Thompson’s serve jolted the Oilers again. He had both of his aces during a 10-4 run that gave the Buffanblu an 18-12 lead.
Huntington Beach scored the next two points, but wasn’t able to solve the puzzle of Punahou’s potent attack.
Next up is an ILH (double-elimination) tournament match with powerful Kamehameha on Wednesday.
“We played pretty good today, but we can still get better,” Au Yuen said.
