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Kamehameha's streak has come to an end. After it had won the last six Division I girls state volleyball titles, the Warriors were removed from their perennial pedestal Saturday night.

Led by Taylor Dayton's nine kills and 10 digs, Punahou (15-0) completed an undefeated season by beating Kamehameha (12-4) in straight sets in the finale of the New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Girls Volleyball State Championships at Blaisdell Arena.

The scores were 25-21, 25-17 and 25-18.

"This is amazing, we all wanted this so much and we reminded each other that every time in the huddle," said Dayton, who took 18 swings with just three errors for a .333 hitting percentage.

The Warriors had won the last six state championships. Punahou was the last school to win besides Kamehameha when it won back-to-back in 2003 and 2004.

"We worked extremely hard this year," said Buffanblu outside hitter Carly Kan. "We knew that they've won a bunch of state championships and we really wanted it this year."

Punahou hit just .132 as a team, but held Kamehameha to a minus .008 hitting percentage. Setter Tayler Higgins dished out 28 assists and libero Katherine Brooks dug a match-high 14 balls. Middle blocker Brittney Markwith was in on six blocks for the Buffanblu, who had 11 team blocks to Kamehameha's 9 1/2.

"The fact that they were six-time defending state champions didn't motivate us at all, but we wanted to come in and play our best and I think we did that," Punahou head coach Peter Baldwin said.

The Buffanblu have been nothing short of dominant this season. They have only dropped two games all year, including one against Kamehameha the last time the teams met earlier this month.

"When we started off in August, it was with the intention of taking one game at a time and just trying to get better each day and we just tried to stay patient and play one day at a time," Balding said. "These kids came each day and it was a challenge dealing with (Kamehameha) - six-time defending champs and their starting lineup has been together for two years - but you know, God put it on our hearts to stay patient and support each other."

Balding's squad faced some early adversity Saturday night as it trailed 9-4 in game one. However, Punahou fought its way back to tie it at 15 and used a 5-1 run a little later to pull ahead 22-18. Dayton's cross-court kill on game point won it for Punahou, 25-21.

The Buffanblu jumped out to an early lead in the next game, scoring the first six points. Kamehameha scored the next three points, but Punahou's 8-1 run opened up its lead to 14-4 and it never was threatened in the game and ran away with it, 25-17.

"Our model was foot on their necks and to keep pressure on them all the time and don't let up," said Kan, whose solo block ended game two.

The third game was back-and-forth until the Buffanblu reeled off five straight points to seize an 11-7 lead. After Kamehameha closed it to 15-13, Punahou responded again with another 5-0 run, which included consecutive blocks by Tai Manu-Olevao and Markwith. Kan's kill on match point culminated a 4-1 run and wrapped up the game, match and state title for the Buffanblu.

"This feels so awesome ... it's what I've been waiting for," said an emotional Kan.

Misty Ma'a had 10 kills to lead the Warriors, who also got 20 digs from libero Chelsey Keoho and 23 assists from setter Alohi Robins-Hardy. The Warriors, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu runner-up, swept Pearl City, Kamehameha-Hawaii and Mililani to reach the title match.

"Hats off to Punahou, they're a great team and they played a great match tonight," said Kamehameha head coach Chris Blake.

The ILH champion Buffanblu, who are ranked sixth nationally by PrepVolleyball.com, had a first-round bye before sweeping Moanalua and Kamehameha-Maui en route to the the final. Punahou lost to Kamehameha in the state title game the previous two seasons.


Division I All-Tournament Team (as selected by the media)

Misty Ma'a, Kamehameha
Tai Manu-Olevao, Punahou
Haley Pa'akaula, Kamehameha
Chelsey Keoho, Kamehameha
Alohi Robins-Hardy, Kamehameha
Brittney Markwith, Punahou
Jordyn Keamo, Mililani

Most Outstanding Player:  Tayler Higgins, Punahou