It was a memorable birthday for TJ DeFalco on Friday night as Huntington Beach (Huntington Beach, Calif.) swept host Punahou, 25-19, 25-17 and 25-21 in the opening night of the Clash of Titans Volleyball Tournament at Hemmeter Fieldhouse. The Oilers, ranked No. 1 in the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Division I Volleyball Rankings, come to Oahu with an 86-game winning streak.

"I was worried about this team because we haven't seen them all year. But we heard a lot of good things about them and they have an amazing crowd and they are a really good team," said DeFalco.

"That's the measuring stick and they are the best in the country and those guys were unreal. We could've played better but those guys earned it," said Punahou's Micah Maa.

The 6-foot-5 DeFalco, who committed to Long Beach State, led the Oilers with 15 kills and added five blocks. Joshua Tuaniga, another Long Beach State commit added 25 assists and Ben Vaught, a University of Hawaii commit, chipped in seven kills.

"We've been playing as a team for the past two and half years and as a unit. That's why we were able to stick together even with the crowd in our ears, we stuck as one," said DeFalco.

Maa led Punahou with 12 kills and three blocks and Wil Stanley added four kills and seven assists and Rohan Watamull and JB Kam added three kills each.

"It was a team-thing, we passed pretty well and everyone contributed. They are a great team and we did our best, but it wasn't enough," said Maa.

The Oilers jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first set prompting Punahou to call a timeout. Punahou managed to cut it to two, 12-10 after Maa's service ace, but Huntington Beach managed to pull away and went up by seven, 22-15. DeFalco added six of his 15 kills and Tuaniga had 11 assists in the first set.

Similar to the first set, Huntington Beach went up, only to find the Buffanblu battle back to cut it to one. However, the Oilers were able to pull away midway through the set and won, 25-17. Maa, who stepped up the intensity, had nine kills through the first two sets. Vaught added four of his seven kills in the second set.

The Punahou student body brought a lot of energy giving the match a playoff-type atmosphere.

"It's a great feeling and playing in front of a crowd like that, it was awesome. I've been to the games at UH and they pack crowds and the fans love the guys and that's what I'm expecting," said Vaught, as he looks forward to playing for the Warriors.

The Buffanblu tied the game at 8 and at 10 in the third set. Huntington Beach used a 5-1 run to go up, 18-12 and Punahou called a timeout. The Oilers went up, 20-13 before the Buffanblu answered with a 4-0 run of their own. Punahou cut it to two, 23-21, but the Oilers held them off to win the match.

"I thought it was one of our better sets we played, but it wasn't enough. Those guys are really good," said Maa.

"We slipped up and let them come back. They stayed diligent and fought back, but we stuck to it and didn't break apart," said DeFalco.

Oilers' middle blocker Alex Wolf added five kills to go along with three blocks and Sean Morrissey added four kills.

Huntington Beach will take on Hawaii Baptist Academy at 5 p.m. while Punahou caps the night against Mira Costa at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

"Whenever you play great teams, it's special and it's easy to get excited. We knew they are a great team, we knew that if we didn't come out on top, that we play another great team the next day. We are ready for two games," said Maa.

"It's awesome, I love this place and that's why I decided to come out here for school. This place is amazing, that's all I can say," said Vaught.

Mira Costa holds off Hawaii Baptist Academy in five sets

Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) needed five sets to outlast Hawaii Baptist Academy in the first game. The Mustangs won the first two sets, 25-21, 25-8. However, the Eagles roared back to tie the match at 2-2, taking the third set, 25-18 and 25-23, but Mira Costa proved too much as they pulled away, 15-9 to win the fifth set.