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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, November 6, 2003

Punahou girls capture ILH volleyball crown

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Punahou's Spenser Rigg tries to block Kamehameha's Mounia Nihipali. Punahou won, 25-23, 25-23, 26-24, after trailing in all three.

Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Volleyball championships are nothing new at Punahou School, except to the 13 Buffanblu girls who defeated Kamehameha, 25-23, 25-23, 26-24, yesterday for the school's first Interscholastic League of Honolulu title since 2000.

The road victory also earned Punahou (17-0) a bye in next week's state tournament, which begins Tuesday. The Buffanblu won three state championships from 1993-2000, but lost to Iolani in the 2001 final and failed to qualify for the tournament last season.

"It's my first time (winning the ILH); actually it's the first time for everybody on this team," said junior outside hitter Aneli Cubi-Otineru, who finished with a match-high 19 kills and three aces. "It's really big, I'm happy we got it. But I think we deserve it."

Anyone watching yesterday's match would agree. Punahou trailed 19-15 in the first game, 18-12 in the second and 12-7 in the third, yet came back to win all three. Cubi-Otineru took control of the final stages in the first two games, drilling four straight kills to end the first game and contributing two kills and two blocks in the second to help turn a 23-20 deficit into a 24-23 lead.

In the third game, the Buffanblu trailed 23-22 before Elizabeth Ka'aihue tied it with a block and freshman Larissa Nordyke and sophomore Kaui Robello got kills to end it.

"That's a lot of comebacks for one night," Punahou coach Scott Rigg said. "Kamehameha is a much better team than they were the first time we played them, as we figured they would be. They really came out of the blocks strong. But we ended up getting some good matchups that worked really well for us at the end, and we stayed patient."

Rigg said the defending champion Warriors (15-2) came out with a different look, moving Kristen Ponce to outside hitter and Makana Recca to opposite. He said it was effective in building leads in all three games.

But Kamehameha coach Chris Blake said the match came down to execution down the stretch.

"We were up in all three games, but then we made a few mistakes and were a little tentative at the end," Blake said. "Punahou executed better than us, and we're going to have to work harder on that to get to the next level."

Warriors senior Mounia Nihipali said the difference probably was more mental than physical.

"When it gets close, we get all uptight and that's when we start breaking down," Nihipali said. "This is almost a new team from last year. Even though we have 10 seniors, there's a lot of new girls. But we played more as a team this time. I think when we lost to Punahou the first time, it woke us up."

Ponce led Kamehameha with 10 kills, and Nihipali added eight kills.

Both teams displayed outstanding defense, producing several long rallies. Punahou had 55 digs, including 13 by Pohai Nu'uhiwa, 12 by Jamie Kagihara, 11 by Spenser Rigg and 10 by the 5-foot-9 Cubi-Otineru. Nihipali, a 5-10 outside hitter who joined Cubi-Otineru as a first-team Advertiser All-State selection in 2002, also displayed strong back-row skills.

Nordyke added 11 kills and Robello contributed 10.

"Punahou is a great team," Blake said. "We push each other."

Cubi-Otineru agreed.

"We knew that if we want it, we've gotta earn it," she said. "They're not going to give it to us. But this gets us ready for states, because the ILH is a tough league, but states will be even tougher."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.