In a game where points weren't easy to come by, it was a pair of Wai'anae miscues that ultimately did in the Seariders in a semifinal match of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Division II State Volleyball Championships last night at Radford's Jim Alegre Gymnasium.

Bula Hoopai had a match-high 12 kills and Harold Kaiwi added 11 to lead No. 2 Hana (11-0) to a 20-25, 25-16, 25-23 victory over No. 3 Wai'anae (14-1).

Hana, the Maui Interscholastic League champion, meets No. 1 Maryknoll in the championship match at 6 tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Maryknoll beat Hilo, 25-19, 25-20, in last night's other semifinal.

Hana and Wai'anae split the first two games and the Dragons led by as many as four in Game 3 at 15-11. However, the O'ahu Interscholastic Association champion Seariders rallied and tied it at 18 on Jesse Lafua's kill. There were ties at 19 and 23, but successive Wai'anae hitting errors secured Hana's victory.

"That was an up-and-down game, back and forth, but we pulled it out in the end," said Hana head coach Manuel Oliveira.

Wai'anae head coach Georgieann Keiki was almost breathless following the match. "They played an exceptional game," she said. "Congratulations to Hana."

The Seariders came out firing in the opening game and quickly took a 5-1 lead. The Dragons rallied and closed to 12-11, but a Hana service error was followed by a Wai'anae block and an Ethan Pimental ace that helped the Seariders pull away at 16-12. Hana couldn't close the gap and put the game point into the net.

"Yep," said Oliveira, when asked if his team suffered first-game jitters. "We got a short team, they got a taller team than us. I think it was more the jitters than Harold getting blocked right off the bat and everybody kind of went 'wow.' "

Wai'anae's Casey Seminavage had three blocks and led his team with eight kills and Anthony Robinson added seven. Kaiwi had three blocks for Hana.

The Dragons awoke in Game 2, but Wai'anae stayed close, forcing a tie at 7 before three consecutive errors led to a 10-7 Hana lead. Hoopai put away a kill on the next play, and a Searider hitting error capped a 5-0 Hana run.

"I told them 'let's play our game,' " said Oliveira. "Our game is real fast."

Wai'anae took a timeout after falling behind 20-13, but that didn't slow the Dragons, who pulled away to win by nine.

Keiki didn't feel her team suffered a letdown following the first game. "No," she said. "I believe Hana stepped it up. They just played quicker and better than we did."

Wai'anae will meet Hilo in the third-place match at 3 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.