In a crowning performance that capped his brilliant four-year career, Spencer McLachlin had 15 kills, nine digs and no errors last night to lead Punahou to a 25-14, 25-20 sweep of Kamehameha-Hawai'i for its third straight New City Nissan/HHSAA state championship.

The Buffanblu finished 21-0 for its third consecutive unbeaten season before an energized Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 2,716. Punahou has now won 56 straight matches in the regular and postseason.

"This is exactly how I wanted to go out," said McLachlin, a 6-foot-7 outside hitter who has signed a national letter of intent to play for Stanford. "Our team worked hard and was resilient, because Kamehameha-Hawai'i was well-prepared and they never give up on every single play. They were diving for every ball and their blocking was solid; they earned their way to the championship match."

The Warriors (16-3) played Punahou even for half of the first game and two-thirds of the second. They trailed 13-12 in the first game, but McLachlin had three kills and an ace to help the Buffanblu go on an 11-1 run to make it 24-13.

The second game was tied 18-18, but setter Riley McKibbin was in on two straight blocks and McLachlin had three kills in a 6-1 run, then Max Halvorson ended it with a kill off a back row dig attempt.

"We just got outpowered," Kamehameha-Hawai'i coach Guy Enriques said. "We have to be flawless to even have a chance against them. Punahou can make mistakes and still come back, because their passing is so sharp and they're just a disciplined, well-oiled machine."

Enriques said the Warriors had no answer for McLachlin.

"We had our biggest block up there, and he would just hit over it," Enriques said. "My players looked at me and said, 'Coach, what can we do?' I said, 'Well, I guess we just have to shake his hand after the match.' He hit 100 percent of his 10-foot attacks, and he hit it just as well from back there as he did from up front. Our guys were just not prepared for that. He's playing at a different level."

McLachlin's hitting percentage was .652, and the Buffanblu hit .412 as a team.

But just as impressive as their hitting was their defense. Time and again, Punahou would keep balls alive and give its offense second and third chances to put away a kill.

"Our defensive game plan was to be disciplined," Buffanblu coach Peter Balding said. "We wanted to make sure and put up a nice block, but if we didn't block it, we wanted to make sure someone was there to cover."

McLachlin said one of the team's goals on defense was to "out-cover" Kamehameha-Hawai'i.

"We knew both teams would be scrappy on defense," McLachlin said. "But the team that got more digs would get more swings on offense."

Punahou finished with 30 digs to the Warriors' 24.

"They move so well," Enriques said. "They're great athletes who play a lot of volleyball year-round."

The Buffanblu jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the second game, but Kamehameha-Hawai'i clawed back and eventually tied it at 16-16 on a kill by Kealoha Kramer. Punahou took the lead back twice but the Warriors kept it tied with kills from Joshua Walters and Kramer. A service error then gave the Buffanblu the lead for good at 19-18.

"I thought if we stayed close and could strike at some point, like 23-22, somehow we might be able to push through," Enriques said. "We played well for most of that game, but we couldn't sustain that at the end."

Fittingly, it was McKibbin — who signed with Southern California — and McLachlin who drove Punahou to the finish line.

"Ever since they signed (on Nov. 8), they've really found a groove," Balding said. "They took their game to another level and that carried us through."

McKibbin and McLachlin began their careers as freshmen on a team that was at the tail end of a three-year state tournament drought. They ended it as three-time undefeated state champs.

"This is sweet," McKibbin said. "It's been a great run."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.