HONOLULU — No one is going to make a clean runaway in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys volleyball season.
Nine-time defending state champion Punahou dragged previously unbeaten Kamehameha back to the pack with a reverse sweep, 23-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-21, 15-5, in front of a couple hundred people at the Warriors’ Kekuhaupio Gym on Friday night.
The teams’ first match of the season lived up to its billing. Punahou hitter Kahale Clini keyed the comeback with 18 kills and 10 service aces, per stats from ScoringLive.
It was the second five-set win in ILH play for coach Rick Tune’s Buffanblu (3-1), who stumbled in their ILH opener against Hawaii Baptist in late February but appear to have recovered.
Punahou setters Elijah Smith and Kanalu Akana combined for 50 assists in a 6-2 offense. Ian Kinney supplied 12 kills.
The workhorse for Kamehameha (3-1), 6-foot-8 sophomore Kainoa Wade, put down 25 kills, but no other Warrior had more than eight for the team that could be the biggest threat in a while to end Punahou’s dominance in the sport.
Wade is the son of Hawaii men’s volleyball coach Charlie Wade.
At the midpoint of the round-robin regular season, ILH teams will now cycle through each other again. Both teams have Mid-Pacific next – Punahou on Tuesday, and Kamehameha on March 28 after a week off from league play.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.