Punahou pushed by Mililani before moving to another boys state volleyball final

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Punahou outside hitter Riley Haine put a kill past Mililani opposite Brycen Yadao on Friday.

1/2

Swipe or click to see more

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM

Punahou outside hitter Riley Haine put a kill past Mililani opposite Brycen Yadao on Friday.

2/2

Swipe or click to see more

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM

Punahou setter Keegan Au Yuen and middle blocker Teke Bower go up to block Mililani outside hitter Manase Fetulimoeata.

RELATED PHOTO GALLERY

Punahou beats Mililani in boys state volleyball semifinals

Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.

Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.

Get unlimited access

From as low as $12.95 /mo.

Subscribe Now

For a moment, top-seeded Punahou looked a little less omnipotent.

After Mililani’s Trevin Matsuda floated three consecutive aces on the Buffanblu, the OIA runner-up Trojans had a 5-2 lead in the opening set on Friday night. Punahou did not flinch, going on an 18-5 run to seize control en route to a 25-17, 25-15, 25-17 sweep in the semifinals of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championships at Moanalua High School gym.

“That was a pretty good match. That was probably 87 percent for us,” longtime coach Rick Tune said. “We left some stuff on the table which we’ve got to clean up, but a lot of things were working tonight.”

Punahou is on a quest for its 38th state tourney title in boys volleyball. The Buffanblu are 15-0 in league and postseason play. That doesn’t include a 4-0 run in the Clash of the Titans tourney, with a win over CIF powerhouse Huntington Beach (Calif.).

Keau Thompson tormented the Trojans from his right-side spot with 17 kills in just 23 attempts (.609). The left-handed rocket launcher also had two of his team’s six aces.

Riley Haine had 14 kills (.526) with four digs, and Aidan Tune tallied nine kills (.600), five digs and two aces. Setter Keegan Au Yuen finished with 41 assists, two aces and four digs. Libero Braydon Simmons had a team-high nine digs.

“The aces (by Mililani) were like a wake-up call for us. It really brought out the best in us,” Thompson said.

Manase Fetulimoeata had a team-high eight kills for Mililani. Brayden Yadao tallied six kills and one ace, while James Saffery chipped in four kills and eight assists. Brycen Yadao had 12 assists.

“I’m excited. Our team really showed up today,” Trojans coach Gabriel Maunupau said. “We played a great game. Didn’t get the result we wanted, but we fixed a lot of things since the championship game. Defensively, our blocking is a lot better. We adjusted earlier as opposed to waiting a whole match.”

After Mililani’s quick 5-2 lead, Au Yuen had a block and Thompson followed with two aces to spark the Punahou run. Thompson finished the opening set with five kills and two aces, while Haine had six kills and a block.

Punahou’s momentum carried into the second game. The Buffanblu got a kill and block from Haine as they opened the lead to 20-10.

Mililani kept the third game fairly close, pulling within 17-14 after a kill by Brayden Yadao. However, middle Brighton Yap (three kills) had back-to-back blocks as Punahou closed the match with an 8-3 run.

Punahou has won 10 state crowns under coach Tune, including the past eight. The most recent was in 2019. There was no state championship in ’20 and ’21.