HONOLULU — At this time one year ago, the Punahou girls volleyball team quietly shuffled out of McKinley’s Student Council Gym, numb from a shocking upset loss to Kamehameha-Hawaii in the state quarterfinals.
The Buffanblu, the runners-up in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, made sure they would not experience the same feeling in the same building on Wednesday night against Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Mililani.
“Last year we got eliminated at this point, by KS-Hawaii,” Punahou coach Tita Ahuna noted after a 25-13, 25-14, 22-25, 25-16 win over the Trojans. “And so it’s nice to get this one under our belt. Tomorrow’s a new day and we’re going to have to compete, again, because they’re a good team.”
She referred to a one-year-later rematch with the Big Island Warriors, the tournament No. 2 seed that swept Roosevelt in the evening’s first quarterfinal at McKinley. The Buffanblu and Warriors meet in Thursday’s first Moanalua match at 5 p.m.
On the other side of the Division I bracket, top-seeded Kamehameha dispatched OIA runner-up Moanalua in straight sets and fourth-seeded Baldwin topped Kapolei in four. Kamehameha and Baldwin meet in Thursday's nightcap at Moanalua.
Punahou setter Rella Binney said the Buffanblu do not lack for motivation and kept their ultimate goal in mind — a 10th state title — after falling short against Kamehameha repeatedly in the ILH this year.
“There’s a hunger on the court, and I think everyone’s just wanting to put their head down and work, grind and get to the final,” said Binney, who had 52 assists, three kills and six digs.
Haumea Marumoto posted a match-high 20 kills for Punahou against 10 errors and Lulu Uluave had 19 kills, 16 digs and a hat trick of service aces, including a walk-off on match point.
“She’s a beast,” Binney said of the versatile Uluave. “I love being on a team with her; I’m honored to have played with her for so long, even play with her in club. She’s a hammer, and it’s nice to be able to set her whenever I want.”
Evelyn Kilisi added nine kills on .471 hitting. Punahou hit .260 to Mililani’s .133.
It was a difficult draw for the Trojans (13-1), who swept through the OIA for their fifth league title — and were assigned the No. 3 seed and a likely matchup with one of the state’s elite programs immediately. Punahou met little resistance from Kahuku on Monday to get to the quarterfinals.
The Trojans’ dynamic hitting duo, Erica Roberts and Alexis Rodriguez, inflicted some damage but not enough. Roberts had 16 kills and six digs and Rodriguez posted 11 and 12. Setter Anae Asuncion had 31 assists and 11 digs.
Mililani coach Val Crabbe said key shortcomings in the first two sets were an inability to finish long rallies and issues with blocking. But Mililani turned it on in the third to momentarily keep comeback hopes alive.
“I just think they didn’t want to go down without fighting. So we fought,” Crabbe said. “We struggled in the first two sets. It’s what it is.”
Crabbe thought her senior-laden team could’ve done some damage if it had time to get its bearings.
“That was our first (match). We won the OIAs and played them first,” she said. “But it is what it is, and we would’ve had to play them, anyway. We would’ve been better in the next match, not the first match.”
Ahuna is preparing her team for a battle against KS-Hawaii, which beat the Buffanblu in straight sets last year with a senior-laden group that reached the state final under longtime coach Guy Enriques.
KS-Hawaii has essentially a brand-new lineup surrounding its main holdover, star hitter Maela Honma, who had 20 kills on 64 swings in the 25-19, 25-17, 25-17 win over Roosevelt (7-8), which was in the D-I state tournament for the first time since 2009.
“Very, very different. But they still have some girls who can put the ball away, and play excellent defense,” Ahuna said. “So we just gotta be patient and play our game. Serve them tough, hopefully, take them out of their offense. We have to take a step up from what we did tonight.”
Honma, who said she is considering playing at the University of Oregon, said her team would have to key in on serve/receive and its blocking scheme against Punahou. KS-Hawaii (15-0) is attempting to become the first Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division I champion since Hilo in 1974.
“I think our blocking is our most important asset right now,” Honma said.
Friday’s championship match is at BYU-Hawaii’s Cannon Activities Center with the Stan Sheriff Center unavailable this week and the Neil Blaisdell Center still undergoing renovations.
In what has become a trend in the D-II girls state tournament, the ILH has turned the event into a contest within its own league.
All four ILH teams in the 12-team field – top-seeded Mid-Pacific, Hawaii Baptist Academy, Damien and University Lab — reached Thursday’s semifinals at Kalani.
All four quarterfinal matches were sweeps with Maui Prep, Hawaii Prep, Waialua and Seabury Hall going down, respectively.
Damien and ULS meet at 5 p.m. and MPI and HBA follow at 7.
University is the most recent champion of that group with a state title in 2021. HBA last won in 2015 and Damien in 2019. League champion MPI has never won a state title in girls volleyball.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.