Kahale Clini had 20 kills and middle Adam Haidar added 13 as Punahou rallied for a 20-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-21 win over ‘Iolani on Monday night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.
Punahou advanced in the ILH boys volleyball tournament and will meet regular-season winner Kamehameha, which defeated Hawaii Baptist in four sets, next Monday in the double-elimination tournament.
Haidar hit .429 on 21 attempts, virtually unchallenged all night.
“It was that dominating mindset that Coach tells us to have. At the beginning, I started kind of slow and just tipped the ball, but after that I got the connection and bounced back,” Haidar said. “We came together and went all out on every point. That’s something Coach tells us all the time. When everybody on the court is super engaged in the play, that’s when we succeed.”
Clini added four aces and two blocks to lead Punahou’s balanced attack. Afatia Thompson had six kills, Evan Porter and Ian Kinney tallied five kills each, and middle James Taras had four kills.
‘Iolani will battle Mid-Pacific on Thursday in an elimination match.
Monday’s matchup was rough for the visiting Raiders with 6-foot-4 outside hitter/middle blocker Casey Lyons sidelined. He suffered an ankle injury at practice and was in street clothes, using crutches.
“You know, credit to ‘Iolani,” Punahou coach Rick Tune said. “Their boys got a lot of heart. They battle. I just found out before our match that Casey wasn’t going to play. It’s really hard to lose a player like that who’s an integral part of their system. Props to (‘Iolani coach) Jordan (Inafuku) and his staff.”
Punahou middles Haidar and Taras combined for 17 kills, while ‘Iolani’s middles had four.
Lyons’ absence didn’t stop ‘Iolani from bringing a strong effort.
“It changed a lot because we had a plan. Our system involves a lot of versatility and Casey’s a big part of that. We’ve got to adapt. A lot of people are dealing with adversity like that. The boys did a really nice job. We’re really proud of them,” Inafuku said. “It told me a lot of things that are positive that I needed to know about whether we can compete in this tournament,”
Trailing 6-3 in the first set, the Raiders rallied and took an 18-17 lead on an ace by Keegan Martyn. A kill by setter Tyler Van Cantfort opened the lead to 21-17 and the home team never got closer than two points the rest of the set.
“We just weren’t executing. We didn’t change the game plan very much at all,” Tune said. “We just didn’t execute in the first set. We didn’t bring the right energy. We didn’t bring the right sense of urgency. We weren’t locked in where we need to be.”
Punahou recalibrated in the second set. Down 17-15, the Buffanblu closed the game with a 10-4 run. Clini, who had one kill, two hitting errors and one service error in the opening set, had six kills in Set 2 as Punahou seized momentum. Haidar had four kills, all from the middle, in Set 2.
In Set 3, Clini put on a clinic with eight kills, two aces and a block to rally the Buffanblu. Again, the Raiders had a lead (9-6) before Punahou stormed ahead. The Buffanblu were within 12-9, then went on a 16-7 run to finish Set 3, closing it on an ace by Clini.
Haidar had his biggest numbers in the fourth game, with eight kills on 10 attempts. With the set tied at 11, Punahou went on a 10-4 run with an ace by Kanalu Akana, a block and a kill by Haidar and a right-side kill by Kinney.
Punahou led 21-15 and ‘Iolani got no closer than two points the rest of the way.
Waipehe Winchester led ‘Iolani with 13 kills, including seven in the second set. Colby Fournier added eight kills and one ace. Martyn finished with three aces, while Van Cantfort tallied 27 assists, four kills and two aces.
“It’s a great learning opportunity for me and how to work with these guys,” Tune said. “We’re going to talk story together and figure out how to start a little bit quicker. It’s hard to lose the first set every match and have to dig yourself out all the time.”
