When it mattered most, Kamehameha turned to its Warriors in the middle.

Alex Akana and Talia Jardin combined for seven kills and two blocks in the final game as No. 1 Kamehameha outlasted second-ranked Punahou 25-19, 20-25, 25-17 last night before a festive crowd of about 900 at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

“;It's a good win coming off a long trip,”; Warriors coach Chris Blake said, referring to his team's Silver bracket title at the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas.

“;It's a critical part of the season. Our girls are physically and mentally fatigued, but they really responded,”; Blake added.

The 5-foot-11 middles took command in a match that ebbed and flowed. Akana finished with seven kills (.500), 2.5 blocks and an ace. Jardin, a sophomore, had eight kills (.545) and teamed with Akana to lead a consistent Kamehameha block.

“;We're the lucky ones,”; Akana said. “;Our passing in the third set was on it. If we do our job, our passers and setters did, too. (Jardin) is so young. She did really good.”;

Whitney Viveiros had team highs of 11 kills and 13 digs for Kamehameha (9-0), which took sole possession of first place in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

Punahou (7-1) got nine kills from freshman Tai Manu-Olevao, but had trouble getting the ball down. The Buffanblu hit .158, including .097 in the final game.

“;Kamehameha is obviously a good team. We were self-destructive. We gave them a lot of easy points in the third game,”; Punahou coach Jim Iams said.

Punahou had five aces, but four service errors and was outblocked 7-3. Senior Anuhea Keanini had 13 assists and seven kills.

“;We lost our momentum. It kind of shifted,”; said Keanini, her voice barely audible after a bout with the flu. “;We gave up easy plays.”;

The Buffanblu stayed in the match with tough defense. Courtney Lelipali had 11 digs and Kristina Kam added 10.

Punahou roared to a 7-2 lead after an ace by Malia Patterson, but Kamehameha found its footing with Lela Matsunaga at serve. The senior delivered three aces in a row to bring the Warriors back.

After a net violation by Punahou and a block by freshman Misty Ma'a, Kamehameha led 16-14 and never lost the lead.

Consecutive hitting errors by Punahou and a block by Jardin ended the first game.

Three aces by sophomore Ali Santi helped the Buffanblu in the second set. Down 14-12, Manu-Olevao hammered three kills as Punahou went on a 6-0 run.

Kamehameha tied it at 20-all on a kill by Viveiros, but Warrior errors and a kill from the right side by Lelipali gave Punahou the second set.

“;They came out firing and we were going through the motions a little bit. But we kept focusing and saw open shots,”; Kamehameha setter Caitlyn Andrade said.

The open shots came from everywhere. Akana had a kill and teamed with Andrade for a roof as the visitors rallied to take an 8-5 lead.

Punahou spent the rest of the game chasing. The Buffanblu were within 12-11 before Jardin slammed two more kills down the middle. Kamehameha closed the match with a 13-6 blitz.

Ma'a finished with six kills and Taylor Akana added five.

Andrade finished with 36 assists. “;Our middles are great middles. Our passing allowed me to do that,”; she said.

Keanini, like the rest of her team, hopes they can improve as the second round arrives.

“;I'm a little disappointed. We could've done better, but I'm proud of our team, too. We put our all into it. That last set, (Kamehameha) made us crumble,”; she said.

No. 4 Hawaii Baptist 2, St. Andrew's Priory 0

In the early match at Hemmeter Fieldhouse, the Eagles improved to 7-1 with a dominant performance against the Pride. C'era Oliveira and Sarah Palmer each had nine kills to lead HBA, the defending Division II state champion, to a 25-12, 25-15 win. Palmer added 3.5 blocks and hit .400.

Oliveira, who had a team-high five digs, hit .615. Kayla Kawamura tallied 14 assists.

Ayesha Hein led St. Andrew's (5-4) with five kills. Kallye Higa hustled for eight digs.