Buffanblu roll into semifinals with sweep of Lunas

By ROBERT COLLIAS, Staff Writer


PUKALANI — One night made a huge difference for the Lahainaluna High School boys volleyball team.

Pick any night and it doesn’t really seem to matter to the boys from Punahou.

The Buffanblu rolled to a 25-3, 25-15 victory over the Lunas in the quarterfinals of the New City Nissan Division I State Championships on Thursday at King Kekaulike gym.

The Lunas collected their first state-tournament win in at least a quarter century with a three-set victory over Kalaheo on Wednesday.

Thursday, against a team that has won 27 of the 38 D-I volleyball titles ever awarded in the 50th state, including the last three in a row, it was a completely different story.

‘‘They have a great program they are building, but it is a program in its infancy,’’ Punahou coach Rick Tune said of the Lunas. ‘‘Their coach, Tommy (Akima), is a great guy who is building awareness and that is what it takes to build a program. It is going to take them a couple of seasons, but they will get there.’’

Stepping onto the court with a program like Punahou helped Lahainaluna take a step on Thursday.

‘‘They are good, they are good, they are good,’’ Akima said. ‘‘I can’t say that enough. That 25-3 game really says it all. The are fast team, they set fast, they move fast. At least we got a little bit better in the second game against their second team.

‘‘They are very, very talented, they are respected and they deserve that respect. No doubt, just being on the same court with them tonight will help our program.’’

The Lunas also had to play without one of their best players, Bryson Williams, who had to leave before the match for the state track and field meet on Oahu.

The Lunas (6-6) will play Kamehameha Maui today at 5:30 p.m. at King Kekaulike for a berth in the fifth-place match.

Top-seeded Punahou (17-0) will face Roosevelt at 7 at King Kekaulike in a semifinal. All 15 Buffanblu players tasted the state tournament against the Lunas.

‘‘Everybody got in and that is not easy to do,’’ said Tune, a former Hawaii and Pepperdine standout. ‘‘I think we did what we set out to do tonight — we maintained our focus, we maintained our concentration. No matter who is on the court, we never want to let up and we didn’t tonight. The Lunas really fought hard in the second game.’’

• Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com