Every indicator pointed Punahou’s way, but top-ranked ‘Iolani still came away with a stunning 25-22, 25-22, 25-6 sweep on Tuesday night.
A large, but mostly pensive crowd at Hemmeter Fieldhouse saw ‘Iolani play without outside hitter Brooke Naniseni, who got hurt last week against Mid-Pacific. Senna Roberts-Navarro stepped up, as usual, with 13 kills, but it was the timely hitting of opposite Eryn Hiraki (seven kills) and middle Mari Lawton (six kills, five blocks, one ace) that were pivotal.
With the victory, ‘Iolani (6-1) needs just one win in its last two matches to clinch the ILH regular-season title and a berth in the state tournament. The Raiders host Mid-Pacific on Thursday and Kamehameha on Saturday. The Warriors beat the Owls in four sets Tuesday and sit at 4-3, as do the Buffanblu.
According to ILH volleyball coordinator Deren Oshiro, if the Raiders lose both matches and end the regular season tied with Punahou or Kamehameha, a tiebreaker match would be played.
“I feel super happy for our kids. The reward of beating good teams I think is something special. It’s something you can’t take for granted,” said ‘Iolani coach Kainoa Obrey, whose team is close to its first state-tournament qualification since 2018. “We haven’t had the luxury of doing it year after year. We love it. We’re going to celebrate it. We’re going to feel good about ourselves, but we do know we want bigger and better things ahead of us.”
Lawton and Hiraki stepped up with poise and accuracy. Lawton hit .429 with no hitting errors, while Hiraki hit .350, also without a single hitting error.
“I think I just had to gain my confidence from the other games,” said Lawton, who missed last season with ACL and meniscus injuries. “We talk a lot about teamwork and (Obrey) really got that into our heads to play as a team and play with chemistry. We played for Brooke and we just played with our hearts tonight.”
Punahou didn’t seem to have an antidote for Hiraki and Lawton.
“They were really clutch. They hit for a high percentage. That allowed us to move the ball around,” Obrey said. “Everyone knows Senna’s really good, but for us to move it around and score from those different positions kind of helps us separate from what teams want to do against us.”
The Buffanblu beat ‘Iolani in four sets on the same court three weeks ago, then lost at the Raiders’ gym in three sets a week later.
This time, the home team self-destructed in one key phase. The Buffanblu committed nine hitting errors in the first set, nine more in the second and eight in the third for a total of 26 giveaways. Facing a relentless ‘Iolani back row, Punahou finished with a hitting percentage of .065.
‘Iolani kept the ball in play and had a .227 hitting percentage with just eight hitting errors for the entire match. The Raiders also had three aces with three service errors. Punahou had no aces and one service error. The teams were even with blocks at five apiece. Setter Maya Imoto-Eakin dished out 30 assists and added an ace for ‘Iolani.
No. 2-ranked Punahou got 11 kills from Lulu Uluave, eight kills by Grace Fiaseu and six by Haumea Marumoto. Rella Binney dished 18 assists and Cali-Jo Shigemasa tallied nine.
The Raiders took advantage of Buffanblu hitting errors for a 12-5 lead to start Game 1. They went on a roll, stretching the lead to 23-12 before Punahou surged back with a 10-1 run. Up 24-22, ‘Iolani’s Lawton put the game away with a kill.
‘Iolani led for most of the second set, getting a block by Lawton and a kill by Roberts-Navarro for a 22-19 lead. Punahou was within 23-22 after a kill by Koen Makaula, but Hiraki came through with another kill from the right side, and a hitting error by Marumoto on an ‘Iolani overpass gave the Raiders a 2-0 lead in the match.
‘Iolani had just eight kills in the third set as Punahou mistakes continued. It was a night to forget for the Buffanblu (19-7 overall), who will finish the regular season against Kamehameha on Thursday and at Mid-Pacific on Saturday.
