Punahou hands Kamehameha first loss of year


Michael Lasquero | ScoringLive
September 8, 2019, 12:01am

Punahou senior Madisyn Beirne puts up a block on an attack by Kamehameha's Keonilei Akana in the first set. Greg Yamamoto | SL

MAKIKI — The monkey is off their backs.

No. 3 Punahou snapped a three-match losing streak to No. 2 Kamehameha with a 25-18, 25-17 win in an ILH Division-I at Hemmeter Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon.

Six different players registered kills for the Buffanblu (3-0 league) to help hand the Warriors (2-1 ILH D1) their first loss of the year. If you include non-league results, Kamehameha was 21-0 before getting swept by Punahou.

"A lot of preparation went into preparing for this day," said Punahou coach Tanya Fuamatu-Anderson. "The reality is the girls have been hungry since day one. They knew the task that was before them and it started in tryouts. They came to work. Everyday they came in and put in an honest hard work. They're hungry for more."

Fuamatu-Anderson said ball control was the difference against the Warriors.

"We really focused on our ball control. We knew they were going to come after our outside hitters (in the back row). It is a strategy that all teams use against each other and it makes outside hitters work extra hard…and we basically worked on that."

With Punahou making good passes to senior setter Chloe Kaahanui (21 assists), the Buffanblu were able to run a balanced attack that saw a good amount of kills come from the middle and the back row.

Kaia Dunford was the leading attacker with nine kills and five digs while Madisyn Beirne and middle Isabelle Iosua and followed with five kills. Kharlie Simeona-French and Aleah Liilii were also key with two block assists each. Libero Katharine Yoshimoto stabilized the defense with a match-high 11 digs.

"We have a lot of strong hitters on the team, whether it be on the outside, the middles or in the back row, everybody is available in any situation," said Kaahanui, who added three kills and three digs. "I'm really comfortable setting anybody. They all get the job done so we're all very versatile."

While Kaahanui got the keys to the Buffanblu's 5-1 offense on Saturday, Fuamatu-Anderson noted that sophomore setter Jaclyn Matias is waiting in the wings and is available for duty if called upon, especially later in the season when matches need three sets to win.

Kaahanui said the competition with Matias pushes both setters to be at their best.

"Every single day she pushes me to be a much better player, a better setter. It's always been neck and neck," said Kaahanui. "I'm just very happy I was able to start this game. Hopefully in the future I'll start more games. She definitely pushes me to become a better player and I definitely push her as well. We're just keeping each other accountable and we're just trying to get better each day."

On the other side of the net, Kamehameha struggled to find some consistency against Punahou. The Warriors committed 10 of their 17 hitting errors in the opening set and had four of their six service errors in the second set.

"Punahou played really well. I think they put us in a lot of bad spots," said Kamehameha coach Chris Blake. "They came ready to play and we definitely didn't have the opportunity to show what we're made of. A lot of it was due to what Punahou did. They deserved the ‘W.'

"In terms of where we're at, it was a good developmental (match), good growth for us. We showed a lot of potential. It's a matter of us figuring things out, but against Punahou put us in a lot of bad spots. Hats off to them and their staff. They did a great job."

Devin Kahahawai led the Warriors in the loss with a match-high 10 kills.


Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].