The third time was not a charm for Kamehameha-Hawaii.
Punahou powered to its fourth consecutive HHSAA Division I boys volleyball title Saturday night, denying the Warriors in the title game for the third time in four years.
The Buffanblu’s Micah Maa smacked 26 kills and was named tournament Most Outstanding Player after the 25-23, 25-18, 25-27, 25-13 victory at Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu.
Emmett Enriques put down a match-high 33 kills for the Warriors (17-1) on 90 swings, but Kamehameha saw another unbeaten season go by the wayside at the hands of ILH juggernaut Punahou (18-0), which featured too much height and too much firepower.
Not to mention its pedigree – an ILH team has won every state tournament dating back to 1980.
Enriques, a senior, kept Kamehameha in the match with a pair of kills late in Game 3, and an attack error gave the Warriors the set.
However, Punahou dominated the fourth set on .408 hitting. It hit .232 in the match and held the Warriors to a .128 attack percentage. Punahou also dominated in blocking (12-4).
Isaiah Laeha finished with seven kills and 12 digs for Kamehameha and joined Enriques on the all-tournament team.
Maa and Wil Stanley are each 6 feet 4, inches. Stanley posted 16 kills, 25 assists and 10 digs.
Game 1 was also close, but Punahou broke from a 20-20 tie, and Stanley answered Enriques’ kill with one of his own to put Punahou ahead 1-0.
No other Kamehameha player other than Enriques or Laeha took double-digit swings or compiled more than two kills. Addison Enriques compiled four aces and 21 assists, and Kekaulike Alameda led the Warriors with 16 digs.
Trojans take fifth place
It was only fitting that Kai Enriques got to bow out on a big stage: Honolulu’s Blaisdell Arena.
Enriques helped carry the Ka’u volleyball program to new heights, and he applied the finishing touches to his career with 18 kills Saturday as the Trojans beat Hawaii Prep 25-22, 25-19 in the HHSAA Division II fifth-place match.
On Enriques’ watch, the Trojans (14-4) have one BIIF title – their first – and one runner-up finish to go along with fourth- and fifth-place finishes at states.
Brian Gascon added seven kills and Damon Hertz posted four for Ka’u (14-4), which avenged two earlier losses to Ka Makani (10-8), including a four-game setback in the BIIF title match.
HPA struggled, mustering only 12 kills and making 12 hitting errors. Tucker Higgins had six.
Enriques, a leading contender to repeat as Division II Player of the Year, had 11 kills in the first game alone, with his last capping the set. The senior added three aces and eight digs.