HILO — Two-time defending state champion Kamehameha will be back to try for a three-peat, after sweeping resilient Kahuku, 25-20, 25-16, last night in the New City Nissan/Hawai'i High School Association Girls Volleyball Championship semifinals.

The Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion and No. 1 seed Warriors improved to 20-1 in regular and postseason play and will face ILH rival 'Iolani (19-2) in tonight's title match at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

First serve is set for 7:30, and the game will be televised statewide on a same-night delayed basis by OC16.

Kamehameha, ranked No. 7 in the nation by prepvolleyball.com, has seemed to bring out the best in its opponents all season, and last night was no exception.

The Warriors had five early aces and raced to leads of 5-1, 12-4 and 16-5 in the first game, only to watch Kahuku stage a furious comeback. Alayna Galeai and Tialei Wesley each had two kills and a block as the Red Raiders clawed their way to 20-19 after an ace by Nile Te'o.

The Warriors finally ended Kahuku's 7-0 run with Alex Akana's spike down the middle, but they served the next ball out to make it 21-20.

But that was it for the Red Raiders, as Kamehameha scored the final four points on Bekah Torres' kill on a slide step, Akana's line shot, a Kahuku lift and a kill by Torres on another step-out move.

"I think we probably relaxed a little when we had that big lead," said Torres, who finished with eight kills. "We laid back and eased up more than we should have, and that was our problem."

The Warriors again created early separation in the second game, using a 6-1 run to take a 14-8 lead. Torres, Jordan Meredith and Kanani Herring each had two kills as Kamehameha stretched the lead to 21-14.

The Red Raiders got two points back to cut it to 21-16, but Torres had two kills, Meredith had one kill and Tati Santiago ended it with an ace.

Herring finished with nine kills and six digs, and Meredith added six kills.

Leilani Tafuna led Kahuku, the O'ahu Interscholastic Association runner-up, with six kills and six digs.

"We told the girls we're very proud of their effort tonight," said Red Raiders coach Uila Fotu-Vendiola, whose team fell to 13-4. "From the get-go, I thought we were focused. We made some mistakes, small things that prevented us from gaining momentum early, but even when we were down I thought the girls played with confidence. They played with heart, and that's all you can ask."

Roosevelt def. KS-Hawai'i: Emily Maeda had 10 kills as the Rough Riders swept the Warriors of the Big Island, 25-12, 25-23. Roosevelt plays Moanalua for fifth place today.

Moanalua def. KS-Maui: Kaleinani Kabalis had 14 kills as Na Menehune swept past the Warriors of Maui, 26-24, 25-13. Dreanne Shaw led Kamehameha-Maui with 11 kills.

Mililani def. Kalani: Candace Soares had 12 kills as the Trojans swept the Falcons, 25-17, 25-18. Mililani faces Waiakea in the consolation final today.

See Wes Nakama's blogs at http://blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.