Punahou players celebrate a four-set win over Mira Costa on the opening night of the Clash of the Titans. Peter Caldwell | SL

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Punahou's Larry Tuileta takes a swing from the backrow against Mira Costa. Peter Caldwell | SL

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On the first night of Punahou School's Clash of the Titans, featuring exhibition matches between top volleyball teams from Hawaii and California, the host Buffanblu bested defending California state champion Mira Costa from Huntington Beach in four sets, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23 and 25-21.

"This is what we want to do all the time. When you want to be the best, you have to play the best all the time and you never shy away from that challenge. I'm proud of my guys, they didn't shy away tonight," said Punahou coach Rick Tune.

"Punahou played a great match and they deserve to win, credit to them. We had some opportunities and things we didn't do well to get it done. They dug a ton of balls, they were better in transition and played steady all night," said Mira Costa coach Mike Ninnis.

In the first set, Punahou took a 7-4 lead after a hit by Larry Tuileta, prompting Mira Costa to call a timeout.

"We were fortunate to have a fast start and we had a nice rhythm going at the beginning of the match. We are a pretty good starting team." said Tune.  

The Buffanblu led by as many as 5 points, after a big block by Punahou setter Micah Ma'a and the Mustangs called another timeout.

The Mustangs cut the deficit to 2 late in the set, 23-21 after a kill from middle blocker Ryan Kaseff.

However, Punahou pulled away as Tuileta and Daniel Andrews combined for the block to clinch the first set, 25-21.

Mira Costa rebounded and found its form in the second set. It was tightly contested until a block from outside hitter Casey White put the Mustangs up 4, 21-17 and Punahou called timeout. White closed out the set for Mira Costa with a kill to win, 25-20, tying the game at 1 a piece.

"I knew the first game, we definitely weren't playing like we could play. We didn't have a good rhythm and not a lot of consistency. We missed a lot of uncharacteristic serves. I knew we could play better in the second game and make a match out of it. We're a good team, we understand what it takes, but we didn't really have it tonight, but Punahou did," said Ninnis.

In the third set, Punahou jumped out to an early lead, but Mira Costa battled back to tie the game, with multiple lead changes as the set went down to the wire.

Punahou's Colin Peros had a service ace to give the Buffanblu the game point, 24-23. Tuileta finished the set with a kill to win, 25-23, giving the Punahou a 2-1 advantage.

The fourth set was just as close and exciting as the third set.

Punahou went up late 22-20 after a big block from Ma'a and Hayashida and the Mustangs called timeout. Tuileta had a block to bring the Buffanblu to game point, 24-20. He also closed out the game, scoring the final point and ending the game, 25-20, after his kill attempt ricocheted off a Mira Costa player.

"We try to focus on closing out our matches during practice. Everyone was really focused and in the game tonight. I think it gives us great momentum going forward and it shows what we're capable of doing," said Tuileta.

It was a challenge for the Buffanblu, but it was a great learning experience for this team.

"We learned we can dig deep when we need to. Being able to execute in high pressure situations and we need to believe and we're in the process of believing so this is a huge step in that process," remarked Tune.

"We're really lucky for them (Mira Costa) to come out here and you really get amped up playing a great team like this," added Ma'a.

Earlier, Kamehameha-Hawai'i defeated Santa Barbara in four sets, 14-25, 25-18, 25-22, and 28-26.