Kahuku's Mariah Berard-Kamakeeaina, left, watches the ball drop on Kalani's side of the court after successfully blocking a Falcon kill attempt. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Kalani's Kerri Okino (center) attempts to put a kill attempt past Kahuku's Nu'u Coleman (left) and Sharae Niu (right). Sean Nakamura | SL

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Kahuku outside hitter Adora Anae (right) attempts to place the ball over Kalani's Charity Lopez (center). Sean Nakamura | SL

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Kahuku moved to a perfect 3-0 in Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East division play with a 25-15, 25-20 victory over Kalani Tuesday.

In the opening set, the Red Raiders jumped out to an early 6-0 lead with Nafanua Leitupo-Asuao on the serve line, as she notched a service ace between a stream of tough serves during the stretch to set the tone. The lead did not last long however, as the Falcons clawed back quickly, closing to within 6-4 on a kill by Courtney Panoke.

Momentum shifted back just as quickly in favor of Kahuku, as a service error by Kalani was followed-up by an Adora Anae kill and four consecutive Falcons miscues to push the lead back out 12-4, forcing the Falcons to burn its first timeout.

The break in the action did little slow down the Red Raiders as the margin widened steadily, reaching double digits at 21-11 following a long rally that featured a Kalani upped ball that hit the speakers near the ceiling before being returned to the Kahuku side of the net, bounced around a few more times and eventually found its way to the floor courtesy of Talia Brown.

Rachel Blake looked sharp running the offense for Big Red in the first set, dishing out nine assists, and the front line combo of Anae and Mariah Berard-Kamakeeaina put down 4 kills and a block each.

Kalani managed to close the gap to single digits on a Rika Okina kill at 24-19, but a service error on the ensuing point put a cap on the opening game for Kahuku.

"We had our lead with our passes, the chemistry was there," said Anae of the first set win. "We worked really hard in practice and it really paid off tonight in our lead, and that was one of our team goals to execute at the net, early, fast, and to not let up."

Kahuku picked up in the second set much like they did in the opening game, racing out to a 4-0 lead on a pair of Kalani errors bookending a Talia Afalava ace and a resounding block in the left corner by Sofia Tonga and Nu'u Coleman.

The Falcons again battled back to stay in the match, closing to within a single point at 9-8 following a Kahuku hitting error, and would stay close for the duration of the set.

"They were just banging away, they are a smart team, and have a great defense," remarked Anae. "We learned to keep the momentum going (against the Falcons), cause we can't allow them to get on a run. They were probably one of our hardest matches of the season so far."

While the flow of the second set was very similar to the first, what was clearly different were the lineup changes for Kahuku, as both Blake and Anae took seats on the bench for just about the duration. Taking over at setter was ShaRae Niu, and the 5-foot-6 freshman delivered in a big way, notching 8 assists and a pair of blocks at the helm of the offense for Kahuku.

"There was a few times where I got kind of nervous but I had my teammates so they helped a lot." said Niu.

And contribute they did, with Sinamoni Tonga coming in off the bench to put down four kills, and Nu'u Coleman chipping in two blocks and a kill of her own.

Tonga in particular made her presence felt in the closing points, as she hammered down one kill to bring the Red Raiders to match point, then got the call again a point later, ending it with an emphatic slam at 25-20.

"It really helps when you have a good second and a good first team." added Niu. "We have a lot of competition just in our own group and it will help us get where we want to go."

As a team, Kahuku didn't have a player with more than four kills in the match, but what they did have was balance, with five girls tied with four a piece.

"We're just trying to get all of them firing on all cylinders at the same time." said Kahuku head coach Tehani Fiatoa. "It hasn't happened yet, and it will be exciting when it happens."

Kalani got 5 kills, 5 assists, and 3 digs from Rika Okino in the match, all team-highs.