Kamehameha players celebrate after a five set over Iolani to win the Division I title. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Kamehameha captured its 20th state crown in school history with an exhilarating five-set victory over top-seeded Iolani Saturday night.

A crowd of 1,862 at the Neal Blaisdell Center were on hand to witness the Warriors' 27-25, 25-20, 12-25, 19-25, 15-12 win over the Raiders in the title game of the New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Girls Volleyball Championships.

The Warriors, scored the final five points of the match to bounce back from giving up a two sets to none lead.

"They say the greater the struggle, the more glorious the triumph," said Kamehameha coach Chris Blake. "The girls dug deep and came to win. We stepped up when we needed to right there in the end game and we did what we had to do to come out with the ‘W.'"

Iolani, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I champion, was three points away from claiming its first state title since 2001. The Raiders won four of the five meetings between the two teams in league play.

"It just comes down to which way the ball bounces," said Iolani coach Kainoa Obrey. "Both teams battled and both sides took good swings. It was a good match, but of course we would like to be on the other end."

Kamehameha, the ILH runner-up, got its first ever state championship win at the Blaisdell Center with balance. Five players registered eight or more kills for the Warriors.

Kayla Afoa had a team-high 11 kills and 24 digs and was named the most outstanding player in the tournament. Kili Robins was active early and finished with 10 kills and two solo blocks. Lauren Condon scored the match-clinching point off of an over pass and had six of her nine total kills in the final frame. Middles Shiloh Peleras and Brooke Kaawa combined for 18 kills.

Freshman setter Lexis Akeo spread the ball around and had 42 assists and 22 digs. Libero Kyra Hanawahine added 25 digs for the Warriors.

"We believe the strength of our team is our team," said Blake. "I'm so proud of each and every one of our girls today because they definitely deserved it."

Kamehameha jumped out to a two games to none lead after crawling back from an early deficit in set one. Iolani held leads of 6-1 and 10-3 to start the first set, and later grew the lead to 18-12, but had eight errors after that point to help give the Warriors a 27-25 win in the opening frame.

Both teams traded points for the beginning part of the second set before a 7-0 run gave Kamehameha a 21-14 lead. Two service errors and kills from Kaawa and Akeo was all Kamehameha needed to close out game two, 25-20.

"We trust our process," said Blake. "We were down a bunch in game one, but we found a way to fight back and we made sure we did the little things."

The Raiders would not go down quietly however. Bailey Choy (44 assists) got multiple hitters going and Iolani was able to win the third set with ease, 25-12.

"They took it to us hard and they gained momentum going into game four," said Blake.

The fourth set was another back-and-forth battle until three straight Kamehameha attack errors gave Iolani a 17-12 lead. The added lift help Iolani pull away from the Warriors and back-to-back kills by Sierra Buscher tied the match at two sets apiece.

The way Iolani came back was very similar to the ILH second round matchup between the two teams. Kamehameha held a two sets to none lead, but dropped the final three games for a reverse sweep. Fortunately the Warriors were able to rewrite history for their first state title since 2013.

"We just had to realized how much we really wanted it and how much we worked for this since the beginning of the season," said Pelaras.

Sage Kaahaaina-Torres had a match-high 16 kills to lead Iolani in the loss. Buscher finished with 15 kills and Moea Kekauoha chipped in 13 more with 23 digs.