HONOLULU — Eight-time defending state champion Punahou has put the rest of the Hawaii boys volleyball community on notice: The Buffanblu are peaking at the right time.
Punahou dusted Kamehameha – the team that has been its closest competition in the state – in a 25-16, 25-20, 25-15 sweep on Wednesday night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse. The lopsided victory in a matchup of winners in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu double-elimination tournament gave the Buffanblu the inside track to the overall ILH title.
Sophomore Kahale Clini put down 13 kills primarily at the left antenna, senior Keau Thompson added 12 with the bulk coming from the right side, and six players contributed to the Buffanblu’s deck of 11 aces.
“So many guys I’m proud of,” coach Rick Tune said. “Everybody did their job tonight, and that’s what happens for us when everybody does their job.”
Kamehameha’s 6-foot-7 freshman standout Kainoa Wade turned heads with 22 kills in the teams’ last meeting in early April. But Wade, the son of UH men’s volleyball coach Charlie Wade, has dealt with a back injury and watched in street clothes this time, an absence that robbed the Warriors of much of their potency.
Kamehameha coach Sava Agpoon told Spectrum News that Wade is likely to miss the rest of the season, a void that has the Warriors attempting to diversify their attack.
However, self-confidence has been the biggest issue in this matchup, the first-year head coach said.
“When we play Punahou, we tend to always play the name instead of play the team,” Agpoon said.
“It’s just confidence in ourselves. I keep telling them we’re pretty strong depth-wise, it’s just finding the right mix on the court now is going to be key in the next couple of practices. Back to the drawing boards, basically.”
Their spread-out attack only went so far Wednesday.
“He’s a huge difference-maker,” Tune acknowledged. “I told him before the match I was so sorry to hear that he’s out. He’s a special talent, and he’s a really good kid.”
A few days ago, the Buffanblu won its Clash of the Titans event over Huntington Beach of California, and that seemed to bolster a squad that was already the team to beat.
Tune proceeded to run down a list of players who performed well Wednesday in the absence of some key performers. Clini, Thompson, senior setter Keegan Au Yuen, senior libero Brayden Simmons, and middles Brighton Yap and James Taras earned specific recognition. Sophomore Evan Porter had two dominant service runs and hitter Aidan Tune, the coach’s son, played well at what his father estimated was about “60%.”
Au Yuen set Clini early, resulting in six kills in the first frame for the 6-foot-3 sophomore as he repeatedly tooled shots off the Warriors’ block. Clini, brimming with confidence, would go on to toss three straight aces to help his team win the set going away.
“I saw Kahale have a huge advantage on our side,” Ah Yuen said. “Especially being a sophomore, that’s a lot of pressure playing in a big-stakes game. I just want to pump him with all that energy because there’s no options for him to go down; he’s always peaking. I thought he did a really great job of that today.”
Punahou will face the team that emerges from the losers bracket on Monday with the chance of sealing the ILH’s seeded berth to the state tournament. Kamehameha faces the winner of Hawaii Baptist Academy and Iolani over the weekend for the right to face Punahou again.
Because Punahou won the round-robin ILH regular season, someone will have to beat Punahou three times next week in order to take the overall title from the Buffanblu.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii.