New year, new offense for Buffanblu

Punahou senior setter DJ McInerny looks to sub out during the second set of an early regular season contest against Kamehameha. Greg Yamamoto | SL

It sounds strange, but the defending Division I boys volleyball state champions are switching up their offense to be more consistent.

Punahou, who is seeking its 35th overall and sixth straight state title this season, is changing from a 6-2 system to a 5-1 offense to match the personnel of its current roster.

The Buffanblu lost nine players to graduation last year, but have a stable of hitters in the fold to carry the load. Senior Ethan Siegfried and juniors Ryan Wilcox and Kanai Akana will attack from pin to pin with senior DJ McInerny at the setter position. The starting lineup is rounded out by sophomore libero Shea Suzumoto and middles Easton Kays and Ryan Hong.

McInerny has experience as a setter, having split time with Todd Gruebner in the previous year, but will be pushed by 6-foot-5 junior Buddy Scott and 6-foot-2 junior Jameson McKibbin.

"DJ has the job, he's our returning starter, but we have three really good setters on this team," said Punahou coach Rick Tune. "This is the deepest setting talent that I've ever had on a varsity roster. All three guys are absolutely capable of running a 5-1 (offense)."

McInerny was effective running the 5-1 offense in the Buffanblu's early regular season victory over Kamehameha, recording 11 assists in the opening game.

"We feel like if we can (run the 5-1), the whole philosophy is the setting is more consistent," said Tune. "When you go from a guy like Buddy who's 6-foot-5 to a guy like DJ, who's like 5-foot-7 — they're both great setters — but the trajectory of the ball, the timing of the sets is a little bit different so we're experimenting early on to see if that can work."

So far the experiment has produced favorable results. Punahou is currently 2-0 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I standings and is coming off an impressive performance in the Best of the West Boys Volleyball Invitational. The Buffanblu took top honors in the 32-team San Diego tournament, defeating Oak Park (Ventura, Calif.) for the title.

Of the trio of hitters that Punahou will rely on, Wilcox is probably the most dangerous weapon after rising up the ranks and earning major playing time during the Buffanblu's previous postseason run. There will be hitters that hit harder than Wilcox, but few can match his hand speed. Wilcox is able to time his spikes when the ball is at its highest point to deliver a strike that leaves little reaction time. The same instincts also make him a deadly weapon from the service line as he recorded four aces in the win over Kamehameha.

Siegfried, one of three seniors on the team, is a power hitter that has grown into a six-rotation player while Akana has the best block out of the trio. Siegfried had a match-high five kills in Punahou's win over the Warriors while Akana had two kills, two blocks and two aces.

The three hitters and McInerny will be the core group of veterans that will have to nurture a young Punahou team with nine new players to replace the 2016 graduating class.

"This year is kind of a reteaching of the dynamic of Punahou volleyball," said McInerny. "Most people would think the returnees that have been here the past couple of years would go ‘oh, we got to do this again,' but it's an eye-opener. We're touching base on things that we kind of forgot and we're improving our game better.

"We're working on the really detailed things. Stuff like being in the right position for defense, having your hands up or your eye work when you block. Just little things like that can really change the follow of the game."

Punahou resumes ILH play Tuesday night when it travels to Maryknoll.

Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].