Kamehameha's Alohi Robins-Hardy puts down a kill attempt against Kalani. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Kamehameha-Kapalama MB Pikake Laumauna knocks a kill past Kalani's Kaiana Iaea and Mariah Victor. Sean Nakamura | SL

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KAIMUKI - New look, same results.

Perennial Division I powerhouse Kamehameha donned new uniforms, but took care of business as usual, wearing down the Falcons, 25-17, 25-15, 25-18, in the opening round of the New City Nissan/HHSAA state girls' volleyball championships at Kaimuki High School's gymnasium.

"It's been a while since we played, we're very happy to advance," said Warriors' coach Chris Blake, "Kalani is a very good team, played a great defense, it took us a while to get things going."

Kamehameha-Kapalama took a 5-1 lead in game one to which Kalani responded back rallying behind Kaiana Iaea's kill tie the score at 6. But Kamehameha-Kapalama pulled out to a 19-15 lead on Tiyana Hallums' kill, forcing Kalani to call a timeout. Hallums ace at 22-17 invoked a second Kalani timeout, and Pomai Recca ended game one with a resounding kill, 25-17.

"We had a little jitters at first," said Pomai Recca, "but we pushed out our end game, and we won together as a team."

The Warriors started an early charge in the second set, forcing the Falcons to call another timeout after quickly leading 7-1. Kamehameha would build the lead to double-digits at 12-2 before the Falcons closed the gap slightly to 13-7. But the Warriors would go on another scoring run to push the lead to 23-12, and Faith Ma'afala ended game two for the Warriors with a kill, 25-15.

Then in the third, the Warriors built an early lead once again on Pikake Laumauna's block in the third game to push the margin to 5-1. There, the Warriors would eventually empty most of their bench to complete the game, but continued to push forward, forcing the Falcons to call their last timeout of the set at 17-10. The Falcons rallied out of the timeout to close the gap to 17-16, but the Warriors would eventually pull away, leaving the Falcons behind with Taryn Auyong ending game three with a kill for the Warriors, 25-18.

"We needed a little work, we needed to execute more," said Warriors' Alohi Robins-Hardy, "but we did well, we pulled out and we played as a team."

Kamehameha-Kapalama will face third seeded Kamehameha-Maui tomorrow at Kaimuki High School's gymnasium at 7 p.m.

"They are (Kamehameha-Maui) a very well-coached team," said Blake, "(we'll) definitely try to find a way to get back together, get some rest, lace it up tomorrow and get ready to get back out on the court."

Pikake Laumauna knocked in ten kills, Faith Ma'afala and Tiyana Hallums each added in seven kills, and Pomai Recca contributed six for Kamehameha-Kapalama.

Kaiana Iaea had game-high 13 kills and Rika and Kerri Okino each added four kills for Kalani.