Punahou is a tenacious volleyball team when it’s focused.

But sometimes, the concentration eases a bit, and Kamehameha showed what will occur when that happens.

Top-ranked Punahou cruised through Set 1 and then had to rally for the final set in defeating No. 2 Kamehameha 25-15, 25-23 in an ILH match on Thursday.

Micah Maa had 10 kills and Rohan Watamull had seven kills for the host Buffanblu (8-0). Wil Stanley had 12 assists and six kills and Todd Gruebner added 10 assists in the win.

"I think we have a solid bunch guys, they’re hardworking, I don’t think they ever intend to take the foot off the gas pedal," said Punahou coach Rick Tune. "I just think it happens and they’re unaware of it when it happens. In practice, these guys just go at it the whole time. I’m just waiting for when they do that for a whole match."

David Kaaa led Kamehameha with seven kills and Kahiau Machado and Naone Cannon each had five kills. Nainoa Barlan-Garcia had 10 assists and two blocks and Elijah Hew Len added nine assists the Warriors.

"We expected to fight these guys, these guys are an amazing team," Maa said. "We didn’t expect to be up by a lot, we expected to be down at points. We were ready for it."

The Warriors held a slim lead for most of Set 2 before the Buffanblu scored the final five points to take the match. Watamull had two kills to help Punahou close to 23-22. Punahou then scored its next three points off Kamehameha hitting errors.

"Our serving came back, we served tough and that gave them a little bit of problems," Maa said. "But in the end they fought really well."

Kaaa said his team settled down and played its usual style in Set 2. The Warriors had four of their five blocks in the final set and were able to respond whenever the Buffanblu scored a point to chip into their lead.

"You get to a point where you want it too bad," Kaaa said. "You got to, for a second, just slow down and play your ball. That’s what we did, we played our ball, didn’t psych ourselves out.

"We always prepare for this, that’s the team we’re hunting for. We just do what we’ve been doing in practice instead of trying to be a Superman, trying to be an all-star. We just work as a team."

Straying from their style hurt the Warriors in that final stretch.

"What made us fall is we stopped playing our game," Kaaa said. "We felt the win and everyone just tried to just finish instead of trying to work as a team."

Maa said his team served and passed well in Set 1. That didn’t happen in Set 2.

"We got a little bit away from our serving, we missed a lot of serves, we didn’t pass as well as we should have," Maa said. "But these guys were digging everything, they (Kamehameha) did great, they earned that one."

Rather than settling at a comfort level, Tune wants his team to push and earn every point. The Buffanblu will need that tenacity when it hosts California powers Huntington Beach and Mira Costa next Friday and Saturday. Fifth-ranked Hawaii Baptist will also play both California schools.

"I thought our focus and tenacity waned just a little bit," Tune said. "This group, I told them when we start playing good teams like this tonight, our focus, our concentration and tenacity, it’s about how long you can sustain it. We just need to execute. The game plan would’ve worked the same way in the second set, we just didn’t execute it."