Makayla Ziegler had 12 kills, four aces and four blocks as JSerra rallied past Punahou for a pool-play win.
Ziegler hit .360 almost entirely from the right side. She is a commit to the University of San Diego. Kendall Stark dished 25 assists, adding three kills and two aces.
Bella Goodrich led Punahou with five kills, adding one ace. Taj Davison tallied 14 assists and one ace, while middle blocker Zoe Keaney had three kills, three blocks and two aces. The Buffanblu are ranked No. 4 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10.
Punahou won its opening match in pool play against Highland Park (Dallas), which is ranked No. 9 nationally by MaxPreps. The Buffanblu rallied past the Scots 22-25, 25-23, 15-7. First-year head coach Brandon Kikuchi, a longtime assistant for Punahou’s boys team, and his staff are in lab mode.
“We’re just trying to see what we have. We can let everybody play. We want to give everybody an opportunity,” Kikuchi said. “Losses are good. We never want to go undefeated. We want to see all the mistakes. We’re going to put our best foot forward. If we win, that’s fantastic. If we fall short, that’s OK. It just helps us to figure things out. We had some great rallies. Everyone had some up and down plays. That’s normal. Some first-day jitters.”
Ziegler made an impression.
“She’s good, she’s really good. Even that left-handed setter was really good, too,” Kikuchi said. “And No. 12 for Highland Park. She’s really good. The competition is fun.”
An intriguing scenario is ahead for the Buffanblu. A 6-foot-5 sophomore transfer, Kaya Young, has not arrived on campus yet. She is with the US national team in Chile this week.
“We’ve got to see how she’s going to fit in. Every group is different. She’s been with the national team since the beginning of August,” Kikuchi said. “We just want to battle and we’ll see what we do together. We’ve got a long way to go.”
Kikuchi has a staff of veteran coaches, former Punahou players.
“Me and the staff are humbled by the opportunity. We’re excited to be there. We’ve been in the gym with the team for a week-and-a-half. The energy is high. We’ll do our best to represent our school and have a good experience,” he said. “The girls have been lifting in the weight room three times a week since June.”
Kikuchi replaces Tita Ahuna, who stepped down after last season due to a new school rule that prohibits administrators from coaching.
‘Iolani 2, La Jolla Country Day (Calif.) 0
The defending state champions of Hawaii withstood a gritty effort by the Torreys for a 25-18, 25-21 sweep.
Setter Taimane Ainu‘u tallied 20 assists, three aces, two blocks and one kill to spark the Raiders. Georgie Lee and Poema Kingma-Kalama had seven kills each.
“I think it just feels weird not having (2026 graduates Bailey Nakanelua and Maddix Taniguchi). They were definitely role models and leaders on the team. We’re getting back into rhythm and connecting as a team,” Ainu‘u said. “Our team chemistry is growing. We’re going to reset, learn from our mistakes, start out strong and have fun.”
Tatum Stone led La Jolla with nine kills and two aces.
Kingma-Kalama had six kills in the opening set and Lee tallied five kills as the Raiders took set one. Ainu‘u had 12 assists and led ‘Iolani’s defense at the pin with two blocks.