In the words of the legendary Kamehameha coach, you want to play your best game in the last game of the season.
On Saturday night, the unseeded Warriors defeated 10-time defending state champion and top-seeded Punahou 25-27, 25-23, 25-17, 25-20 in the New City Nissan/HHSAA boys volleyball state final. and accomplished the almost unthinkable. Championship.
Punahou defeated Kamehameha in all four ILH matches, two in four sets and two by sweep. The Warriors were a different team on Saturday as they took control in the second set and never let it go. This time, the Dynasty Boufan Bleu had no way of stopping 6-foot-9 Kainoa Wade, a Kamehameha junior. He finished his Kamehameha career with an impressive performance of 34 kills on 76 swings (.342), 11 digs, and 2.5 blocks.
“This team has been through a lot of adversity. “All we knew was May 11th. That was the only game that mattered to us. We did what we could. Let's see,'' Wade said. He plans to graduate in the winter and join the UW volleyball team by spring. “That's the only way to get out. There's a lot of fight on this team, a lot of love for each other. We never gave up on each other. That was the thing. We got them. We lost four times. Everyone ignored us. But we didn't write back.”
Connor Williams added 10 kills and Brayden Van Coolen had 34 assists and eight digs. Christian Togiai had five kills and libero Harizen Soares had a team-high 16 goals.
Adam Haidar led Punahou (15-1) with 11 kills. Naru Akana and Evan Porter each had 10 kills. Akana had 23 assists and Elijah Smith had 20 assists. Matt Chun had a team-high 14 homers.
“That was 100 percent the best game they've ever played,” Punahou coach Rick Thune said. “Kainoa and everyone doing their job, that's what they're doing at their best. We knew once Kainoa got some momentum they were going to be tough.”
Kamehameha carried the momentum into the fourth set, but Punahou held on and took an 18-16 lead, but it was quickly regained. A net violation gave the Warriors a 19-18 lead.
Punahou tied it at the end on an error by Wade, but Kamehameha closed out the game with a 6-1 run. Kills (dump shots) by Van Coolen and Wade, a roof by Pukihi Awai, two hitting errors by Punahou and, fittingly, a right smash by Wade ended Punahou's quest for an 11-year state title. It was struck.
This is Kamehameha's sixth state title in boys volleyball, the first since 2011 and the first under coach Sava Agpoon.
The Warriors held a narrow lead for most of the first set, but a kill from James Taras and a back-and-forth battle between Akana and Wade tied the score at 22. Badham then roofed Williams to give Punahou a one-point lead. .
Akana's versatility was put to use as the pass deflected high toward the net. He adjusted and tipped for the kill, giving Punahou a 24-22 lead.
Wade's consecutive kills tied the score at 24, but Taras got another kill to put Punahou ahead at 25-24. Kamehameha tied it again on a kill from Wade, but Porter stepped up with a kill and a roof from Wade to end the first set.
The game plan seemed simple. He shakes off Wade, but forces his teammates to put up a tough fight. Wade had 10 kills (.304) in the first set. The Warriors, excluding Wade, had 2 kills on 14 swings and 4 hitting errors (-.143) in the first set.
Williams had three kills in the second set, giving Kamehameha an 8-4 lead. The Warriors nearly handed the set on an error as Punahou tied the score at 20, 21 and 22. Williams got through with two left-side kills, and after a hitting error by Taras, Wade roofed Porter to end the second set.
The momentum was on the Warriors. After Punahou came back in the third set to cut Kamehameha's lead to 11-10, the Warriors continued to lead 7-2. Wade had two kills and he and Awai had back-to-back blocks for an 18-12 lead.
After Punahou's net violation and Wade's kill on the overpass, the Warriors led 21-14. Wade had another kill to take the set and give Kamehameha a 2-1 advantage.
