In a tournament that has been full of the unexpected, one thing is certain: There will be a new champion.

Gabbie Ewing slammed a match-high 27 kills to lead Hawaii Prep to a sweep of defending-champion Saint Francis in a semifinal match of the New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II Girls Volleyball State Championships at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium Thursday afternoon. The scores were 25-18, 25-21 and 25-20.

Ka Makani, the top seed from the Big Island Interscholastic Federation and No. 3 seed in the tournament, improved to 15-3 with the win and advanced to Friday's state championship match, where they will play Konawaena.

"We approached it like it was just another game," said Ewing, a 5-foot-7, junior outside hitter. "We tried to play them as a faceless opponent, we didn't try to label them at all. We just played our game, we played hard and we were lucky enough to come out on top."

HPA was efficient on offense — converting 40 kills against just 10 hitting errors — thanks to steady passing from libero Kawena Lim-Samura. Middle blocker Alaina Bradley registered four of Ka Makani's six blocks, including three solo blocks, but it was Ewing who led the way. She had nine kills in game one, eight more in game two and 10 kills in the third game.

"She played with heart today," HPA coach Sharon Peterson. "She really led the team, but she had a great supporting cast and everyone did their job. She couldn't have done it by herself and I'm so proud of everyone that they all rallied and did their jobs well."

Ka Makani took a quick 7-1 lead in the opening set and extended it to 11-3 following a pair of Saint Francis hitting errors. Following a kill by Ewing later in game one, the Saints called timeout and responded with a 3-0 run to pull within 20-15, but HPA scored three of the next four points to extend its lead back to seven points. Saint Francis got two points back on consecutive violations by HPA, but Ewing pounded her eighth kill of the set to set-up an ace by Carina Verhulsdonk on game point.

Saint Francis led for much of the early part of game two and led by as many as four at 15-11. However, a 12-1 run by Ka Makani — which included three hitting errors, two net violations and a service error by the Saints — completed turned the tide. Saint Francis used a 6-1 run to pull within 24-21, but another serve into the net gave HPA game two.

"We were just trying take it one point at a time," Ewing said of the game-two rally. "Coach Sharon taught us to be mentally tough, so thanks to her, I think that's what pulls us through when we get down."

The teams went back-and-forth in game three with 10 ties and five lead changes. Natashya Enos gave Saint Francis a 12-11 lead with her lone kill of the set, but Ewing triggered a 4-1 HPA run to force a Saints' timeout. Another Ka Makani run of 4-1 followed out of the timeout to give them a 19-14 lead. Saint Francis cut the deficit to 20-19 following a Lacey Satele kill from the right side, but HPA closed out the set on a 5-1 run, including four kills by Ewing.

"It's great, I'm sky high right now," said Ewing, who deflected credit to her teammates. "I feel like my teammates put in as much effort and contributed as much to this win as I did."

Hawaii Prep was the lone remaining seeded team left in championship contention entering Thursday after three other seeded teams lost in a wild quarterfinal round Wednesday. All of that mattered little to Peterson and her team.

"Never even thought about it," Peterson said. "Never thought about what our seeding was at all. We knew coming here that the Oahu schools are all very solid, they're coached well and they're experienced club players. I personally felt like we were the underdogs."

Saint Francis, the No. 3-team out of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, fell to 15-4 on the year and will play Waimea in the 5 p.m. third-place match at McKinley Friday. Maile Luis-Mateo led the Saints with 10 kills.