After playing for nearly one week straight, the Punahou boys volleyball team can finally get a break and hit the gym for some needed adjustments.

Henry Cassiday and Joshua Taylor had nine kills each to help Punahou beat host Kamehameha, 19-25, 25-18, 25-18, in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys volleyball match yesterday afternoon at Kekuhaupi'o Gym.

Maddison McKibbin added eight kills and Benjamin Lam had seven for the Buffanblu (8-0), who have played every day since last Tuesday. Their only day off was Sunday, and included during that stretch was the three-day 'Iolani Tournament, which featured multiple matches on a single day.

"We've been having match after match after match, three days at the 'Iolani Tournament, (Monday) night, we haven't had time to make any adjustments in the gym that we need to make, to get back to work and polish stuff up," Punahou coach Rick Tune said. "We've just had to figure it out on the court."

Jaylen Reyes had eight kills and Nolan Carter had seven to lead the Warriors (3-2).

"Kamehameha played a good match," Tune said. "Kamehameha is definitely a good team and they posed some problems for us and combine that with the fact we didn't play our best game."

After losing the first set, the Buffanblu never trailed the rest of the match. McKibbin said the difference between the first set and the second and third sets were "simple things — passing, serving, energy and communication."

"We looked really dead," McKibbin said. "I don't know why. We just need to be more aggressive."

Down 17-11 in the second set, the Warriors cut it to 17-15 behind Daylan Chock's kill, two kills from Carter and a double block by Carter and Reyes.

Punahou called a timeout, then pulled away with a 4-1 run. Austin Ako's kill and a double block by McKibbin and Lam ended Set 2.

"The thing with Punahou is they'll keep coming at you," Kamehameha coach Guy Kaniho said. "They're a team with seasoned players from top to bottom. They don't make too many mistakes, so what happens is if you don't come strong at them, they'll just keep coming at you from all directions."

Facing a 7-1 deficit in the third set, Kamehameha whittled away at Punahou's lead again. Five Kamehameha players had kills to help the Warriors trim the lead to 15-13 after a Buffanblu rotation violation that forced Tune to call a timeout.

Ako had a kill down the middle and then teamed with Cassiday for a block. Cassiday's kill made it 18-13, but the Warriors closed to 18-15 after Reyes' kill and Cassiday's hitting error. McKibbin's kill from the right side and Lam's kill down the middle gave the Buffanblu enough room to pull away.

Kamehameha never trailed in the first set and pulled away midway through by scoring three straight to lead 17-14 after Kahale Morgan's block. Cassiday had a kill, but Morgan put down a kill and the Warriors got a point off a Buffanblu violation to make it 19-15.

After a Punahou timeout, Reyes bumped the ball over the net that landed for a kill and Christenson's service ace extended the lead to 21-15.

"We minimized the service errors to the point where we had no service errors, which will obviously help give you more chances to score," Kaniho said. "We passed the ball fairly well and basically as an offensive team, we executed what we need to execute to be successful in the first game."

Kamehameha plays at 'Iolani (6-0) on Friday.