Punahou tradition continues
The first word that came to the mind of Punahou coach Rick Tune after the Buffanblu won their fourth straight and 33rd overall title was "privileged."

"I've had the ability to work with great families, a great environment like Punahou where they are amazing in supporting our program, with great alumni that come back and give back to the boys, and finally great coaches and players," Tune said. 

"There's a lot of days that are a grind to get through, a lot of 12-hour, 13-hour workdays. Winning is nice, but I still would feel the same way about my team with these boys if we didn't win. I just feel privileged to be a part of this, it's humbling really."

Although Punahou loses UCLA bound Micah Maa and JB Kam to graduation, the Buffanblu have a stable of horses that can lead them back to a 12th state final. 

The versatile Wil Stanley nearly made a case for himself for the tourney's most outstanding player, libero Kelsey Yogi is one of the best in the state at his position and Rohan Watamull is an underrated outside hitter. In the middle the Buffanblu have Akahi Troske, one of the bigger blocks in the state, and Sam Bradley, who can fire one of the quickest kill attempts across the net. 

"My thoughts next year is that I return a lot of the boys that I love working with, so we'll see how it all plays out," said Tune.

Final four a small world
The Hawaii Elite Southside team was represented well in the New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Boys Volleyball Championships

Nine out of the 10 players from the outside volleyball club played in the Division I final four.

King Kekaulike (Colton Cowell)
Punahou (Sam Bradley, Kelsey Yogi, Wil Stanley, JB Kam and Akahi Troske)
Kamehameha-Hawaii (Emmett Enriques)|
Moanalua (Austin Matautia and Garrison Gabriel)

"It's always fun to play against them," said Stanley. "Practicing with them, you know how good they are. Just coming out and playing against them, it's always a little rivalry between our schools, so it's really fun to see who is the best."

After the state tournament the nine boys, along with Kapolei's Myles Uepa, will fly to Hilo for training with KS-Hawaii coach Guy Enriques, then to a pre-nationals tournament in California before heading to the 18s Open Boys' National Championships.

Eight out of the nine are also invited to attend the USA Youth High Performance A1 program this summer. After nationals i over they will compete in Des Moines, Iowa at the High Performance Championships.

Stanley, Matautia and Yogi have also been selected as alternates to the USA Youth National Team.

Thanks to Yogi's mother Laurie, for emailing this information to our reporter Brandon Ching!

Clarification to an ILH rule
Unlike the Iolani football team and the Maryknoll baseball team, Hawaii Baptist will not be required to move up into Division I despite winning consecutive Division II league titles.

By population size, the Eagles are classified as a pure Division II team. Division I schools like Iolani and Maryknoll have a one sport exemption rule that they can use to play down in Division II. Mid-Pacific currently uses it with its soccer teams and Sacred Hearts has fluctuate its use of the exemption with soccer and softball.