In a dominant display of power and precision, the top-seeded Punahou boys volleyball team punched their ticket to the Division I state championship with a straight-sets sweep of Mililani (25-22, 25-17, 25-21) on Thursday at Kekuhaupio Gymnasium. The victory sends the Buffanblu—ranked 22nd nationally by MaxPreps—into the title match on a scorching 12-match winning streak.
Cameron Porter was the undeniable star of the show, hammering 18 kills with a blistering .455 hitting percentage, while Tanoa Scanlan added 15 kills of his own, hitting .344 to go with seven digs. The duo’s firepower proved too much for a resilient Mililani defense, which fought hard but couldn’t contain Punahou’s relentless attack. William Niethammer anchored the back row with a team-high 10 digs, while Noah Usher and Seizo Sexton chipped in five kills apiece.
For Mililani, the OIA runner-up, Zyrus Alailima led the way with 10 kills, while Kaito Duranceau added eight. Moises Murillo and Seth Kimura (nine digs) each tallied five kills, and setter Isaiah Holeso dished out 28 assists in a gritty effort that kept the Trojans competitive throughout.
Despite the sweep, Punahou coach Rick Tune wasn’t entirely satisfied with his team’s execution. “Mililani competes. They’ve got a lot of volleyball players over there. They play together as a team. They’re unselfish. They’re well coached. They received serves well, pretty much all night,” Tune said. “I don’t think we executed our game plan super well. We had stretches of doing it, but we didn’t do it for a full match.”
The Buffanblu got off to a rocky start, but senior leadership from Porter and Nahua Lloyd helped steady the ship. “I think we kind of were too energetic. We had some big swings, but we weren’t taking care of little things,” Porter admitted. “We just needed to cool off.”
Setter Nalu Akana was the engine behind the offense, finishing with 42 assists, three kills, two aces, three digs, and a block, spreading the ball with calm precision. Scanlan, a 6-foot-6 junior, noted the unique playing environment, saying of the BYU-Hawaii court: “The court is bouncy. I remember playing basketball there and you definitely get up more.”
Mililani coach Gabriel Maunupau praised his team’s fight despite the loss. “I like that we showed up. We’re all sore. Couple of our kids are sick, but you’ve got to show up and you’ve got to believe it,” he said. “A big thing for me was fighting for every point no matter what the outcome was, and I think we did a good job.”
Punahou (21-4) now turns their attention to the Division I final, where they’ll face Moanalua at 7 p.m. in BYU-Hawaii’s Cannon Activities Center. With 12 straight wins and a national ranking on the line, the Buffanblu are poised for one more statement performance on the biggest stage.