Thursday update!

Monday I had planned to do an intermediate girls soccer game but it was postponed.

On Tuesday afternoon, at Iolani gym, I attended the Iolani-Punahou boys varsity volleyball game. In the one previous meeting of these two fine teams at Punahou School, Punahou prevailed in a very close, hard-fought match in 3 games. I expected this to be an exciting, close match and it certainly was.

The first game saw Iolani really cooking with the offense featuring Brad Lawson continually getting points on smashes. First game score, 25-21 Iolani.

The second game saw Punahou adjust to Brad by showing frequent triple teams on the block. This strategy paid dividends for the Puns and gained them a second game win, 25-22.

The third game was a classic. Iolani started out strong and shot ahead to a 6-3 lead. Punahou surged back to a 10-7 lead, then to 17-12. Back and forth these two fine teams went. It reminded me of Ali-Frazier. Before your time, huh? Anyway, Iolani never gave up and came back again, pulling into a 22-19 lead. It looked pretty good at this point, but Punahou had other ideas, running off 5 crucial points in a row. At 24-22, Punahou was in the driver's seat, but Iolani refused to fold and came back to 24-24. The excitement and tension in the air was at a fever pitch as these teams battled for the advantage.

Each team took the advantage, with Iolani actually having 4 match points on the way to 30-30. The chances were there but Punahou hung on to win it at 32-30.

What a fine match! My understanding is that even though we have lost twice to Punahou now, we still have a shot at getting into the states through the second spot. I hope we get that shot in a rematch with Punahou. Kamehameha and Maryknoll must not be underestimated. It will be fun.

After the boys' varsity match, it was the girls' varsity against Punahou. The girls also played a close match but this time it was Iolani on top, 25-16, 19-25 and 27-25. I wish I could have stayed to see that match but Tuesday night at 6pm just doesn't work for my schedule.

Also at 6pm, there was another big Iolani-Punahou match up, this time at the Punahou pool. The boys intermediate water polo team, after beating Punahou in their first meeting, went into overtime at 7-7, only to lose 9-8. There will be a rematch at 6pm tonight at Kamehameha pool for the overall championship.