Punahou's Micah Ma'a makes a kill in the third set against Kamehameha Hawai'i. Ma'a had 20 kills on the night for the Buffanblu. Evan Asato | SL

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Punahou Team Manager Owen Chan hoists the 2014 HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Trophy. Evan Asato | SL

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Punahou's Kelsey Yogi makes a dig in the final set against Kamehameha Hawai'i. Evan Asato | SL

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Punahou's Tui Tuileta maks a kill against Kamehameha Hawai'i. Tuileta had 16 kills on the night for the Buffanblu. Evan Asato | SL

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Kamehameha's Evan Enriques had 27 kills for the warriors against Punahou; and is the 2014 HHSAA Boys Volleyball tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Amber Popovich | Special to SL

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Punahou players celebrate after winning the 2014 HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championship. Amber Popovich | Special to SL

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Punahou won their third straight Division I title after taking down Kamehameha-Hawai’i, 25-21, 25-19, 23-25 and 25-16 in the 2014 New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division Volleyball State Championships at the Neil S. Blaisdell Center. The Buffanblu won their school’s 32nd overall state volleyball championship and Rick Tune won his fourth overall state championship as head coach.

“They (Punahou) are a great team and kept us off of our game and played really good defense and deserved what they got over there and we couldn’t overcome it,” said Guy Enriques. 

“We knew it was going to be tough and that is a class organization over there. Guy, his sons and his 16 or 17 sons— because that’s what it is, a family. They are fantastic at teaching the right things, not just volleyball, but life, they do things the right way. After the final ball drops, it’s about life lessons,” said Tune, praising Kamehameha-Hawai’i. 

“They have a lot of great players and they’ve greatly improved and it showed today and all sets were super close,” said Larry Tuileta. 

Micah Ma’a had 20 kills and 25 digs, Larry “Tui” Tuileta had 16 kills, two service aces and 22 digs, Isaiah Kaaa had 15 assists, Todd Gruebner had 10 assists to lead the way for Punahou. 

“Just thanks to my teammates, they gave me great opportunities. Everyone was passing real good and coach Rick set up a great game plan and that helped me a lot,” said Micah Ma’a. 

“If I can’t contribute one way, I try to contribute in other ways, whether it’s digging or serving and just settling down all our guys that are new to the team and it ended up working out and we ended up making adjustments, especially when they make adjustments to our adjustments. It’s really tough to do and I’m glad we pulled it out,” said Tuileta. 

“I think they played a big role, but they weren't the only ones, that were really carrying us," said Tune, on Ma'a and Tuileta. "I think Danny Andrews, Akahi Troske came up big. Trent Thompson as a blocker came up huge in the fourth set and Kelsey Yogi settled down and got some critical digs. Wil (Stanley), Pono (Kaaa) and Todd (Gruebner) put up hittable balls at the right time, those two guys are definitely our best players, but I think everyone did their role, because I don't think we would've been successful without everyone doing their role.” 

It was a close and back-and-forth first set. Punahou began to separate after Daniel Andrews nailed a block to go up, 22-19 and the Warriors called a timeout. Larry Tuileta rallied off three straight kills to take the first set, 25-21. 

The second set was just as close as the first set, but the Buffanblu started pulling away later in the set after Ma’a put down a kill to make it 21-18 and the KS-Hawai'i called a timeout. The Buffanblu went on a 4-0 to end the set after Ma’a’s kill to win, 25-19.

“We were able to make adjustments and I’m really proud of the young guys that are new to the team and adapt to the system and listen to the veterans and coaches that are giving advice and I’m really proud of them,” said Tuileta.

In the third set with their backs against the wall, the Warriors came out firing. KS-Hawai'i went up, 10-4 after Avery Enriques’ service ace and Evan Enriques’ kill. The Buffanblu battled back and cut the deficit to one, 15-14 after Tuileta’s kill. Tuileta had a service ace to tie the game at 17. It went back and forth to the end and Evan Enriques had two straight kills to make it, 24-23. Tuileta’s kill attempt went out and the Warriors took the third set, 25-23. 

“They’re a really steady team, Evan (Enriques) is steady as a rock and doesn’t make errors. It’s tough going against a team that’s steady because if you mess up once and they’re not going to,” said Ma’a. 

“I think we caught them off guard a couple times and they’re pretty relentless, we have one cannon while they have two. It’s hard to compete at that level having kids like Micah and Tui and when they need a point, they have two guys they can rely on,” said Enriques, on the third set. 

“I told them at the end of the second set, ‘Look guys, if you’re expecting them to roll over, they’re going to come out harder than they ever came out’ and they did. Right off the bat and we didn’t execute and I told them we need to execute. That was the focus going into the fourth set and we needed to execute our game plan because it worked in set one and two. Then we ran them off and were able execute pretty efficiently,” said Tune. 

Punahou separated themselves from KS-Hawai'i after Akahi Troske’s big block to make it 14-9 and the Warriors called a timeout. The Buffanblu went on a 6-1 run to give themselves a double-digit lead after Trent Thompson nailed a kill to make it 20-10. The Warriors went on a 3-0 run after Evan Enriques’ kill and Punahou called a timeout. Ma’a and Troske had kills to put Punahou up, 24-14 and a net violation on KS-Hawai'i ended the set and match. 

“It’s been a long season. We had to grind at a lot of different points this season and it’s been tough, but credit to this group of guys, they came in ready to work. When they know we need to push, they push and I’m going to miss this group,” said Tune. 

Evan Enriques finished the game with 27 kills and 12 digs. He was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Avery Enriques had 17 assists and Kekaulike Alameda had 26 digs for the Warriors.