Punahou's Micah Ma'a look for room between Kamehameha's Puna Kaniho and Azariah Distajo. Evan Asato | SL

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Punahou's Lary Tuileta spikes the ball for one of 18 kills of the night. Evan Asato | SL

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Kamehameha's Keahu Ka'a'a goes up for a spike attempt against Punahou. Evan Asato | SL

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Punahou's Noah Hayashida backhands the ball over the next, catching the Kamehameha defense off guard. Evan Asato | SL

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Punahou avenged an April 12 home-court loss to Kamehameha with a four set victory on Senior Night, 19-25, 25-22, 25-11, 25-22, forcing a one-game playoff for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu title and the accompanying seeded berth into the HHSAA Division I boys volleyball tournament.

"It feels amazing. I think we all deserved it, we practiced hard and we played hard, and I think it showed on the court." said senior Kupono Fey of the victory.

Whether nerves played a factor or not, both teams struggled in set one, in what was for the most part an uncharacteristic start for either squad. Punahou committed six service errors in the set and Kamehameha four at the service line. There were five unforced errors and five net violations in aggregate, with miscues accounting for nearly half of the points scored (20 of 44, 45%).

Kamehameha looked to find some consistency in the back half of the set, opening up a modest 22-19 lead off of a 5-2 scoring spurt capped off by a Cullen Mosher block that forced a Punahou timeout.

The break in the action did little to stop the momentum, as Warriors' setter Puna Kaniho went right back to Mosher on the next set, and the six-foot-three outside crushed it for a 23-19 advantage, and then found Mosher again following a second timeout by the Buffanblu to bring up set point.

Punahou would lose set one on a four-hit violation, 25-19.

The Buffanblu rebounded from the set one defeat, and did so not via the arm of Tui Tuileta, who had already recorded 8 kills in the opening game, but on the strength of a balanced offensive gameplan. In the 25-22 win for the Buffanblu in set two, six Punahou players recorded at least one kill, inclduing 3 from Fey and another from setter Micah Ma'a.

And while a single kill may not be very significant statistically speaking, the fact that Ma'a was part of the offensive gameplan as an attacker was, as was the four assists in the set by Dylan Gerard.

"It gives us more options for sure," said Punahou head coach Rick Tune. "Its something that we've been practicing, a tweak that we made and something that I think we'll continue to do."

Ma'a finished the game with an across-the-board stat line of 4 kills, 3 blocks, an ace and a dig to along with 27 assists.

The momentum came to a crescendo in set three, as the home team surged ahead to a 20-5 lead, riding a string of 10 straight points with libero Colin Peros on serve.

"Our coaches were telling us before the game that was the rotation that we needed to step up in because there were only two attackers, and it was perfect that Scotty served. It made it work for us." said Fey.

Peros was almost mechanical on each of those 10 points, placing a line-drive knuckler perilously close to the end line each time like clockwork.

"It was right on the line did you see that?" exclaimed Fey, who then elaborated on the choice of serve location. "We tried to hit the stack (on the left side), and it messed them up a little bit."

Kamehameha closed to 21-8 in the set, but a Fey to Tuileta connection put an end set three, 25-11.

A visibly confident Punahou squad seized control in set four, opening up a 3-0 lead on a Noah Hayashida kill early, and extended to a 15-7 margin before a string of Buffanblu miscues prompted a timeout by the home team at 15-10.

The Warriors clawed their way back within a deuce at 16-14, but service errors proved to be especially back-breaking for Kamehameha, as miscues at the back line definitely halted any chance for a momentum swing that the visiting team was looking for.

Punahou eventually took set four and match on a Tuileta kill, 25-22, but not before Kamehameha denied the victory on three straight set-points, including an emphatic solo block by Mosher that forced a Buffanblu timeout.

Tuileta led all players with 18 kills, Fey added 7 kills and 6 blocks, and Hayashida was also a big part of the offense in the win, chipping in 7 kills and a block.

"My coaches have been telling me to go hard every single time, and I've been trying to that my best." said Hayashida.

Seniors Cullen Mosher and Makoa Camanse-Stevens led the way for the Warriors with 10 kills each. Mosher also added 3 blocks, an ace and 2 assists.

The match also marked the return of two Kamehameha players who were inactive in the last meeting between these two teams, middle Azariah Distajo (4 blocks) and outside hitter/setter Kaehu Ka'a'a (2 kills, 4 digs, 4 assists).

Both teams will take to the court again Friday at Kamehameha's Kekuhaupi'o Gymnasium in a winner-take-all affair. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m.

"Every match is important for us, we don't take any match lightly." replied Tune when asked about the gravity of Friday's contest. "One of the biggest lessons we've learned this year is that we need to play at a high-level every time we take the court, every time we get to practice."

"Its about coming to work, being disciplined, and executing."