Hope Carter racked up 28 assists with 10 digs to help Mililani get by the Hurricanes in three sets in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division contest. Peter Caldwell | SL

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The Mililani girls volleyball team celebrates after winning a point against host Kapolei. The Trojans rallied to win their second game of the year in three sets. Peter Caldwell | SL

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KAPOLEI — The Mililani girls volleyball team faced a stormy test against host Kapolei, but battled back just in time to come away with the victory Thursday night.

Ashley Pawlak and Falanika Danielson had eight kills apiece and Hope Carter racked up 28 assists with 10 digs to help Mililani (2-0) get by the Hurricanes (1-1) in three sets in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division contest. The set scores were 21-25, 25-22 and 15-6.

The win also extended the Trojans' regular season winning streak to 19 games.

"I'm just happy and proud of them," said Mililani coach Val Crabbe. "It's hard coming in here. Kapolei, they're good, they're a great team. We had our spurts. We pulled together and helped each other through the errors and they just stayed in the moment. That's what tonight was all about."

Carter, the 2015 OIA West Player of the Year, also added three kills, three block assists and two aces for a solid all-around performance. Starr Sergent and Katie Asbery also chipped in three kills each while Aysia Miller and Gabby Naniseni rounded out the Mililani players with kills. Defensive specialist Sarah Wong added three aces and four digs and Kylie Alos dug up seven balls after switching to libero in the second set.

The Trojans led by as many as five, 14-9, in the opening set, but allowed Kapolei to catch up before dropping game one. Mililani atoned for its early mistakes in the second set and rode a 17-11 lead in game two to force a set three.

"One thing we struggled with is finishing, but we just had to pull it off, work hard and dig deep on every play that we make," said Carter, a 5-foot-9 senior. "We all kept yelling ‘we're going to a third, we're going to a third,' so by just keeping that mentality in mind, that's what helped us."

From there the Trojans were able to ride the momentum to a 3-0 start in the third set before cruising to a 15-6 win.

Another key factor in Mililani's comeback against Kapolei was when it made a position change after the first set. Danielson, who played libero in the opening game, saw time as an outside hitter and had all of her kills in sets two and three.

"She plays a really great back row and she's a great passer for us," Crabbe said on Danielson, a 5-foot-6 freshman. "In the preseason she helped steady the back row and brought some consistency, but we had to bring her to the front tonight."

Although the Hurricanes were inconsistent down the stretch, Kapolei coach Naidah Gamurot was pleased to see that her girls played a lot better than they did in their straight set win over Nanakuli to begin the season.

"We were having a little bit of a consistency problem, which is a trademark at the beginning of the year, but part of it is we're still trying to get it together," she said. "This is way better than it was on Tuesday (against Nanankuli) so we made a lot of improvements yesterday, and I can't be upset about that."

Jayleen Abregana had seven kills, 11 digs and three aces and Michelyn Pililaau finished with six kills, three blocks (one solo) and three aces to lead the Hurricanes in the loss. Sophomore setters Tiffany Mook and Transfiguracion combined for 19 assists and senior libero Taylor Bell added a match-high 20 digs.

The Hurricanes will look to get back on track with a road game against Waipahu (0-2) while the Trojans host Pearl City in their first home game of the year. Both games are slated for Tuesday.