The Red Raiders got 12 kills from Nile Te'o and kept their cool against a stubborn McKinley squad for a 25-21, 25-20, 25-16 sweep last night.

A boisterous crowd of 1,800 at McKinley Student Council Gym saw Kahuku (14-0) remain unbeaten in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red double-elimination tournament.

McKinley (9-6) fell into the losers bracket. Both teams are already assured of state-tournament berths after winning matches on Tuesday.

Te'o wasn't the lone star for Kahuku, ranked No. 3 in the Star-Bulletin Girls Volleyball Top 10. Taofi Sanft had five kills, and Jovan Falemalu, Lavinia Latu and Amanda Tonga each added four kills.

Tonga, a 5-foot-11 junior, had a dominant spell during the second set when she accumulated all three of her blocks.

Elizabeth Blake was nearly flawless with 27 assists.

Era Iafeta led 10th-ranked McKinley with 11 kills, while Joelle Sagapolutele added six. Lita Melino had five kills and three blocks. Ashley Gravely had 25 assists.

The visiting Red Raiders, seeded first in the Red East, fell behind 13-6 in the opening set as McKinley seemed to have all the momentum.

Was it a case of “;bus legs”;?

“;I think it's just mental if you're ready for the game,”; Te'o said. “;It was our mistakes. We had three serving errors in a row and our passing wasn't there. Coach said to settle down and play our game.”;

Coach Uila Fotu Vendiola rarely raises her voice with her unbeaten team.

“;Oftentimes, they don't respond to yelling. When it's not a crisis, there's no sense in yelling at them,”; she said. “;McKinley was serving well tonight. It wasn't anything we weren't familiar with.”;

Kahuku roared back and pulled within 14-13. The Tigers got kills from Melino and Angela So'oalo to stay ahead 17-14, but the Red Raiders took command with a 9-1 run.

Aces by Blake and Te'o subdued the Tigers, and the home team got no closer than three points the rest of the way.

McKinley regained its form in the second set with a magical 10-4 run - aided by four Kahuku hitting errors - to tie it up at 20-all. However, Tonga exploded with a kill and three blocks to power Kahuku to a 2-0 lead in the match.

Seven hitting errors by McKinley made life easy for Kahuku in the third set. The Tigers were within 13-12, but Kahuku closed it out with a 12-4 run. Sharol Mae Kahawaii had two aces in the third for the Red Raiders.

McKinley hit .165 and finished with two aces, three service errors and four blocks.

Kahuku hit .289 and had five aces, three service errors and seven blocks.

“;We played well in the first two games,”; McKinley coach Chad Giesseman said. “;I think we've got to serve tougher. We were too conservative. You can't serve easy to a team like that.”;

Moanalua 3, Aiea 2

Lahela Kaili-Laroya pounded 22 kills, including six in the crucial final set, as Na Menehune knocked off the top seed from the Red West 25-15, 23-25, 25-17, 27-29, 15-13.

Kaylee Ponce added 17 kills, Latricia Taifane provided strength in the middle with 12 kills and 31/2 blocks, and Courtney Calicdan had six kills for No. 7 Moanalua (11-3). Carsen Mata was the glue of Moanalua's balanced attack with 40 assists and five of her team's 10 aces.

“;We've seen them before, and you know how smart their players are,”; Moanalua coach Tommy Lake said. “;I have a feeling we'll meet up with them again.”;

Kelly Leopoldo had 22 kills to lead sixth-ranked Aiea (13-1). Melelatu Samisoni added 12 kills and Danielle Grace had six. Ka'ala Leopoldo had 27 assists.

Moanalua hit .293, but committed 10 service errors.