In a boys volleyball state semifinal matching the tournament's two tallest teams, Punahou's underrated quickness proved to be the big difference in a 25-10, 25-9 sweep of Kalaheo last night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

The two-time defending champion Buffanblu improved to 20-0 in the regular and postseason and will play Kamehameha-Hawai'i in tonight's title match at Stan Sheriff Center. First serve is set for 7:30, and the match will be televised live statewide on OC-16.

Last night on its home floor, Punahou proved that its players are not just tall, but extremely quick as well. Senior outside hitter Spencer McLachlin led another balanced attack with nine kills, but senior setter Riley McKibbin again spread the wealth with quick sets to the middle.

"Our middles (Tim Harrison, Max Halvorson, Jeremy Kaimikaua, Damian Pherigo) are probably the most improved players on the team, and they've been working hard in practice," McKibbin said. "We saw some weaknesses in (the Mustangs') middle and we tried to exploit it. They spread their block pretty wide, so there was a lot of open room in the middle."

After Kalaheo (15-3) played the Buffanblu even for the first eight points of the match and trailed 9-6 early on, Punahou's middle attack and strong block helped to quickly stretch the lead to 18-8. McLachlin then had three kills in a 7-0 run to end the first game.

"They upped their game even from last night," Mustangs coach Gavin Cook said. "They don't give points away, so you've got to play flawless against them to even have a shot at winning."

Punahou took fast control of the second game and never gave Kalaheo a chance to get close. The Buffanblu jumped to leads of 6-1, 9-2, 16-3 and 19-4 before cruising to the finish.

On paper at least, the Mustangs looked to be a formidable challenge because of their height — eight players are 6 feet 2 or taller. But Punahou, which also has eight players at 6-2 or taller, used its quickness to make better passes, run a faster offense and put up a consistent block.

"We were able to pass well enough to get the middle guys going," Buffanblu coach Peter Balding said. "Then Riley started spreading it to the outside, and then back to the middle and that made it tougher on them. It became an inside-out thing."

McKibbin said Punahou's steady passing often goes unrecognized.

"Tonight we passed really well, and that's our base," said McKibbin, who credited Erik Shoji, Maddison McKibbin, Colan Ishii and McLachlin with getting him the ball. "The media usually focuses on the kills and stuff, but we take pride in our passing and a lot of times that's what wins games."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.