Kahale Clini had 15 kills, three aces and five blocks as Punahou rallied for a wild 25-23, 30-32, 27-29, 25-23, 15-10 win over nationally ranked Moanalua in the championship match of the Clash of the Titans on Saturday night.
Justin Todd led Moanalua (27-3) with 25 kills and five blocks.
The three-hour match was tightly contested from start to finish. The host Buffanblu won the opening set and had a 23-21 lead in the second before Todd roofed Afatia Thompson to spark a rally.
Kills by Cody Bonilla and Todd closed out the longest set of the match.
Moanalua’s momentum continued into Set 3. Na Menehune led 13-8 before Punahou rallied to take a 17-16 lead. The Buffanblu had a 26-25 lead after an ace by Clini, but he followed that with a service error and Moanalua later took a 28-27 lead on a roof by Todd, a 6-foot-8 senior.
Jaycen Bush put Set 3 away with a kill.
Moanalua then led the fourth set 23-21, but Punahou came back with four consecutive points, including a kill and an ace by Evan Porter.
Moanalua led the final set 8-6 before Punahou rallied again, going on a 7-0 run behind the serving of Colby Kitagawa. Moanalua cut the lead to three points, but Thompson and Ian Kinney put the match away.
Thompson finished with 10 kills, while Porter, Kinney and middle James Taras had nine each. Porter and Matthew Chun tallied two aces each.
Kai Rodriguez had 14 kills for Moanalua, ranked No. 6 in the USA Today Super 25.
Punahou beat another Top 25 team, No. 17 Mira Costa, in pool play.
It was the first time in the tourney’s history that two Hawaii teams played in the final.
Moanalua went 3-0 in pool play with wins over Corona Del Mar (Calif.) 25-22, 25-15, 27-25; Santa Barbara (Calif.) 25-18, 25-21, 25-16 and Del Norte (Cal.) 25-15, 25-22, 26-24.
Corona Del Mar is ranked No. 13 in the USA Today Super 25.
Punahou led its pool with victories over Kamehameha-Hawaii 25-15, 25-16, 25-20; Mira Costa (Calif.) 18-25, 25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13 and Bishop O’Dowd (Calif) 25-20, 25-21, 25-20.
Punahou will play at ‘Iolani on Tuesday in an ILH regular-season tiebreaker match.
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Friday’s matches
Moanalua def. Corona Del Mar (Calif.) 25-22, 25-15, 27-25
Punahou def. Kamehameha-Hawaii 25-15, 25-16, 25-20
Mira Costa (Calif.) def. Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) 25-23, 22-25, 20-25, 24-26
Santa Barbara def. Del Norte (Calif.) 17-25, 22-25, 23-25
Bishop O’Dowd def. Kamehameha-Hawaii 25-23, 18-25, 18-25, 15-25
Moanalua def. Santa Barbara 25-18, 25-21, 25-16
Corona Del Mar def. Del Norte 21-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-12
Punahou def. Mira Costa 18-25, 25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13
Saturday’s matches
Punahou def. Bishop O’Dowd 25-20, 25-21, 25-20
Corona Del Mar def. Santa Barbara 25-18, 25-16, 25-23
Mira Costa def. Kamehameha-Hawaii 25-18, 25-21, 25-21
Moanalua def. Del Norte 25-15, 25-22, 26-24
Pool A
Punahou 3-0
Mira Costa 2-1
Bishop O’Dowd 1-2
Kamehameha-Hawaii 0-3
Pool B
Moanalua 3-0
Corona Del Mar 2-1
Santa Barbara 1-2
Del Norte 0-3
