HONOLULU — A few days after Kamehameha's gut-wrenching reverse sweep loss to Punahou in the state's 2023 boys volleyball championship match, Warriors players held a team meeting.
"I said, 'We will be back in this game and we will win this game,'" Kainoa Wade recalled.
The star opposite was true to his word as the Warriors powered through at every instance they faltered in the past to defeat their ILH rival, the 10-time defending champion Buffanblu, 25-27, 25-23, 25-17, 25-21 at the Blaisdell Arena on Saturday night.
[Note: See below for more photos of the match.]
The 6-foot-9 Wade put down 34 kills on 76 swings — frequently going over the top of the Buffanblu block — and got timely help from Kamehameha's role players in a virtuoso last prep appearance before his expected early graduation to play for his father at the University of Hawaii next spring.
The tournament's Most Outstanding Player leaped on the media table and faced the Kamehameha faithful after helping to defeat Punahou for the first time in five tries this season and bringing the first koa trophy to the Kapalama hillside since 2011.
“It’s unbelievable. I just wanted to bring one back to the school and fight for these players, these coaches,” Wade said. “We’ve been through so much. We were knocked down, we never gave up. This group never lost confidence and we showed that tonight.”
It was the sixth championship overall for Kamehameha (14-5).
In Division II, University Lab got 40 kills and 21 digs from Koa Laboy as the Junior Bows outlasted Le Jardin in five sets for the school’s first boys volleyball state title.
For Punahou coach Rick Tune, Wade’s performance evoked that of Micah Christenson, the future Olympian who led the Warriors to that 2011 championship. Punahou’s run of 10 would begin the next year.
“He’s an all-world talent. Kainoa Wade is special,” Tune said. “You saw how many plays, it’s just a rat-a-tat play, they chuck it up and he comes in flying and kills the ball. I mean, you can’t defend that.”
Wade added 11 digs, an ace and four blocks. He was supplemented by 10 kills from Conor Williams and five from Christian Togiai. Setter Brayden Van Kuren distributed 41 assists.
Libero Harryzen Soares had 16 digs in helping steady the Warriors’ season-long weakness – its passing. Kamehameha went through several lineup changes and variations of offense before it figured out the winning formula. Soares, who started the year as a hitter, moved back to his natural position in the back row.
“We had a bit of a rough start,” Soares said of the season. “We went to each other and knew we had to love each other, support each other. With that support, everyone came together much closer, and as we got closer, our (level of) volleyball just kept going higher.”
Punahou got 11 kills from Adam Haidar and 10 each from Evan Porter and Nalu Akana, but the Buffanblu lacked the go-to arm they possessed last year in Kahale Clini, who graduated early to play at UCLA this spring.
The Buffanblu (15-1) hadn’t needed one until its first loss of the season Saturday night. They hadn’t been pushed beyond four sets all year; in one match, Kamehameha didn’t even hit 20 points in a set against them.
Punahou hit just .138 to Kamehameha’s .250.
“These guys played their hearts out tonight, man,” Tune said of Kamehameha. “Did we play our best match tonight? No. But that happens sometimes, and they elevated to a whole new level.
“All streaks are meant to be ended at some point, and that’s OK. My boys have to learn that lesson, too.”
Kamehameha failed to keep its emotions in check when last year’s state final on the North Shore began to turn against it. Coach Sava Agpoon said he directed his assistants to keep checking on morale.
A set loss to Moanalua in Friday night’s semifinal served as a timely reminder. When Punahou claimed the first set in extra points, the Warriors were this time unfazed.
It was 20-20 in the fourth set when the Warriors unleashed a finishing flurry.
Wade recalled looking up at the Cannon Activities Center with a 22-20 lead in Set 4 last year, three points from the title. Punahou came storming back to win in five.
“This year I’m looking up at 22-20 and saying, ‘I’m not going home tonight. We’re not going home tonight,’” he said.
He fittingly put down championship point along the sideline from the right antenna, and the wild celebration was on. He dove to the Blaisdell floor and teammates rushed over to pile on him.
Agpoon, a third-year varsity coach, said he and his staff are far from satisfied.
“It’s something I’ve been been working on. Kainoa mentioned it in the last interview – creating a legacy. We don’t want to make it a one-time thing; we want to make it multiple, like how Rick Tune does with their program and how Chris Blake does with the (Kamehameha) girls program."
Koa Laboy was sick of it.
University Lab’s star had experienced excruciating losses in state tournament basketball and volleyball over the last two years. No more.
The Junior Bows outlasted ILH foe Le Jardin in a battle of teams vying for their school’s first state title in the sport, 25-22, 25-27, 27-25, 25-27, 15-12.
ULS (14-0) capped an unbeaten season with a massive game from Laboy, the tournament Most Outstanding Player who took 98 swings.
“We were just so hungry for it,” Laboy told Spectrum OC16’s Jimmy Bender. “I mean, I just couldn’t take losing anymore, I guess. We really wanted this thing and it just motivated us so hard to work every single day … and to really just take it.”
Laboy had five kills in set five and Micah Nakasato (26 kills) put down the championship winner.
Elijah-Shore Flores led Le Jardin (9-7) with 31 kills and 12 digs and La‘akea Kamahele added 19.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.