Punahou improves to 4-0 with four set win over Iolani

Greg Yamamoto | SL

Led by a 56 assist outing from setter Rella Binney and a trio of hitters reaching double digits kills, Punahou improved to 4-0 on the season with a hard fought 25-20, 21-25, 25-17, 25-19 win over Iolani.

"She's balanced, she's determined, she is our quarterback," said Lulu Uluave of Binney. "I think setters don't get enough recognition."

Uluave had a match-high 25 kills, Haumea Marumoto put down 17 kills and Indigo Clarke added 13 more, as the Buffanblu recorded more kills (62 to 48) and hit at a better percentage (.329 to .203) than the home team Raiders.

"The options and weapons we have the more spread the block will be, it makes the hitters look better," said Uluave.

"This year we have a lot of strong hitters and we actually have a lot of seniors on the court," Binney added. "Lulu I just go to her whenever I need somebody to score and Indigo and Haumea are both doing really well, so I'm really excited for this season."

Binney added three total blocks (one solo, two assisted) in the match, part of 15 total for the Buffanblu, compared to just eight for Iolani.

It was the Callie Pieper show for much of set one, with seven kills in the opening frame alone, but it was Punahou who pull away late, scoring the final four points capped off by a tandem block by Indigo Clarke and Faatamalii Brown to give the visiting team an early edge.

Iolani rallied from an 8-2 deficit in the second thanks to tough serving by Maddix Taniguchi, who recorded two aces during a 6-0 spurt that was capped off by a Hope Cacal kill to tie the score up at 8-all. Iolani made its move to secure the second set with the score tied at 12-all, going on an 8-1 run to seize control of the set at 19-13, eventually winning the second 25-21.

Pieper continued her hot play with six more kills in the second, and Uluave really seemed to pick up some momentum in the set as well, where she tallied seven kills of her own, and carried through to sets three and four, where she averaged just over seven per set after just three in the first.

"I think we had just make some little adjustments to our serve receive," said Uluave of the pickup offensively. "its always the first touch that can be better and better and that's what was hurting us."

Set three was all Punahou, as they trailed 5-4 in the early going, but went on a four-point spurt on back-to-back-to-back kills from Uluave to make it 8-5. Iolani cozied up to within 3 points at 15-12 on a Tiana Barrett kill, but another 5-0 surge capped off by a Kealohalani Cox kill to make it 21-13 all but assured a 2-1 set lead for the Buffanblu, who took the third 25-17.

The fourth started tight again, but scoring spurts by Punahou proved to be too much for the home team to rally from, as a trio of kills from Marumoto helped edge the Buffanlu ahead to 7-4 early, and a 4-0 burst near the backend of the set capped off by Uluave's 22 kill of the night made it a 21-14 advantage.

Down the home stretch, it was Uluave shouldering the offensive load, scoring three of the final four points for the Buffablu, with Binney sending a 50-50 ball back to sender for the final point of the set and match.