The HHSAA DI Boys Volleyball State Championship match featured two of the best teams in the state, the No.1 tournament seed Punahou and the No.2 Moanalua. Both teams had received a first-round bye and began their tournament play on Thursday, May 5th. Both Moanalua (vs Castle 25-16, 25-18, 25-13) and Punahou (vs Roosevelt 25-8, 25-19, 25-16) took care of their business sweeping their opponents to advance into semi-final Friday.
At Moanalua, Punahou played the first semi-final match against Mililani who had previously upset the No.4 seed KS-Maui in a convincing 3-set sweep (25-11, 25-12, 25-18). The Buff n Blue continued their tournament dominance, sweeping the Trojans and securing their spot in the Championship match. At their home court, Moanalua faced KS-Kapalama who proved to be a tough opponent. The teams exchanged sets until the match was tied at 2-2. In an exciting finish, the Na Menehune won set 5, 16-14 to advance to the Championship Match.
The final match of the 2022 season was underway and the Buff N Blue got off to a hot start and forced Moanalua to play catch up in Set 1, which ended in 25-18 in favor of Punahou. Set 2 was the closest set of the match but ended in 25-22 and put Punahou in a position to win the State Championship in Set 3. In the final set, Moanalua struggled as they allowed the Buff N Blue to win their ninth straight State Championship.
For the Na Menehune, Keanu Kawaa led the team with 7 kills. Malu Wilcox led the team with 10 assists. Aidan Tune and Riley Haine led Punahou in kills with 16 and 15 respectively. Punahou’s Keegan Au Yuen had a match-high 42 assists.
Congratulations to both teams on a fantastic 2022 season!
Photographer: Lori McKeown https://www.lorimckeownphotography.com/
