Maela Honma drilled 21 kills and Taina Kaauwai added 12 as Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion Kamehameha-Hawaii stunned Punahou 25-12, 25-22, 27-25 in the quarterfinals of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships on Wednesday.
Kamehameha-Hawaii (37-5-1) will meet OIA champion Kahuku in a semifinal today at Moanalua. KS-Hawaii is seeded third, but Punahou was ranked No. 2 statewide for the past month.
“I’m stoked for the kids. They worked very hard for all this,” KS-Hawaii coach Guy Enriques said. “They stayed with the system and believed in each other. We just do what we do, the same system.”
Honma, a 5-foot-8 junior, was impeccable from all areas of the floor, including the back row. Using a variety of shots, her off-speed kills kept the Warriors ahead for most of the match.
Kaauwai, a 6-1 senior, also demonstrated finesse at the middle with tremendous power. Punahou simply had few answers despite having a successful season in ILH play.
“We just didn’t play our game today, but that was a great team,” Punahou coach Tita Ahuna said. “They came out on fire. They were ready to play. Punahou is a good team.”
With just two players near 6 feet tall, the Big Island Warriors don’t exactly strike fear into opposing teams. Instead, they simply execute with deadly precision.
The second set was pivotal as Punahou rallied from a 12-5 deficit to within 17-16. When Kaauwai returned to the floor, she dominated with two kills as the Warriors closed the second game strong.
Punahou (24-11) rallied and led in the third set, 16-12, but Honma got hot and brought KS-Hawaii back with a 22-21 lead. Punahou went ahead 25-24 after a kill by Lulu Uluave, but the Buffanblu were whistled for a net violation. Kaauwai then pounded two kills to give the Warriors the sweep.
KS-Hawaii was 16-0 in BIIF play, plus a 9-0 run in California two weeks ago. The Warriors won the Southern California Invitational with a 6-0 mark.
