Punahou's Tui Tuileta spikes the ball over the net against Kamehameha. Evan Asato | SL

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Kamehameha's Keahu Ka'a'a puts down a kill against Punahou. Evan Asato | SL

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Punahou's Todd Gruebner sets the ball for Kainoa Quindica in the third set. Evan Asato | SL

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Punahous Justin Kam and Danny Andrews fight to get the ball past Kamehameha's Kahiau Machado Evan Asato | SL

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MAKIKI – It took a while for Punahou to get going, but once it did, there was no stopping the two-time defending state champion from taking care of business. 

Punahou continued its dominant run through the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, downing Kamehameha in four sets, 25-18, 25-22, 26-24, 25-22, to claim the ILH title Tuesday night. With the league championship in hand, Punahou will receive the ILH’s seeded berth and first round bye in the 12-team state tournament. 

“It’s a huge win for us, especially with the spot that we have in the state tournament,” said Punahou senior outside hitter Tui Tuileta who had a team-high 14 kills. “It gives us a lot of time to heal and to observe a lot of the other teams that will be in the state tournament.” 

A crowd of about a 100 at the Christopher B. Hemmeter Fieldhouse saw the Buffanblu improved to 13-0 on the year. This was also the 10th straight ILH title for the Buffanblu. 

“Anytime you win an ILH championship it’s a big deal,” said Punahou coach Rick Tune. “I think this is our 10th straight one for us. This is a big milestone for our program; we’re real just in awe of what that means. It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to sustain success and it’s not easy.”

Despite their perfect record, the ILH crown was not going to be handed to the Buffanblu on a silver platter. Kamehameha (10-4) made sure that Punahou’s league title would have to be earned.

For starters, the Warriors took the opening set, 25-18; the first time Punahou has dropped a set all season. Between net violations, hitting and service errors, Punahou had a total of 12 miscues in the first set.

“Today is the best that (Kamehameha) ever played against us. It was a strong message they sent to us,” said Tuileta. “Their message was they came to fight, they came to take the title. They came back improved (and) we could tell that they improved from throughout the season.”

Punahou was also dealing with some new faces in its starting lineup.

“A lot of our (new) guys in the lineup,” explained Tune. “We have two new setters, we have a new starting middle, a new starting libero. We had guys who this was their first ILH championship game. There’s going to be a learning curve.” 

The Buffanblu also had to overcome a monster game from Kaehu Ka’a’a who finished with match-highs in kills (18) and service aces (3).

On top of it all, Punahou’s Micah Ma’a wasn’t at full strength. Tune said he was dealing with a bronchial issue. Ma’a still was able to finish with 11 kills. 

Regardless, Punahou was still able to overcome these issues and win the final three sets.

“Getting into it we just had to find a rhythm,” said Tuileta. “Grind out the first set (like) how we did and just keep playing, consistently finding a rhythm and just keeping (it) throughout the entire match.” 

Tuileta epitomize his postgame comments during the match by getting hot in the later half of the match. After only picking up two kills apiece in sets one and two, Tuileta doled out five kill performances in the third and fourth set. 

“(Coming) into a tight match like (this) with all the sets close, I guess it’s the veteran’s responsibility to lead the team,” said Tuileta. “That’s kind of what all the seniors tried to do, especially since we’re experienced in these kind of matchups.” 

Tuileta also added 14 digs, a block and a service ace.

Also coming up big for the Buffanblu victory were Trent Thompson and Daniel Andrews who finished with 11 and eight kills respectively. Setters Todd Gruebner and Wil Stanley also combined for 41 of 47 total assists.

This was the fourth meeting between the two squads. Although they dropped all four meetings to Punahou, Kamahameha will join Punahou as the two teams who will represent the ILH in the state tournament. The New City Nissan Division I Boys Volleyball State Championships kick off Friday, May 2.