KAHUKU — Meleana Yamashiro had eight kills and Emily Maeda seven to lead Roosevelt past host Kahuku, 25-23, 25-17, last night.

The Rough Riders, ranked No. 5 in The Advertiser's poll, improved to 9-2 in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's Red East Division. No. 4 Kahuku suffered its first loss, falling to 9-1.

"I'm very proud of them. They came out and executed the game plan," said Roosevelt head coach Bryan Camello.

Kahuku defeated Roosevelt in three games Sept. 11. The Rough Riders won the first game and dropped the next two.

"Last time we didn't show up for the second and third games," he said. "It wasn't technical (differences), just mental. I told them 'this is our game' and that Kahuku is a tough team and we have to fight and earn everything."

With the win, Roosevelt kept its Red East title chances alive with one match left. The Rough Riders visit Kaiser Thursday.

Roosevelt needs Kahuku to lose its last two matches — Tuesday at Moanalua and Thursday against Kailua — and the Rough Riders need to beat the Cougars in order to win the competitive Red East.

Kahuku can clinch the division by winning out.

Last night's match featured a fired-up Roosevelt team that deflated the Red Raiders.

"On offense we wanted to play smart and mix up our game," Yamashiro said. "On defense we wanted to touch every ball."

The first game was tightly contested and featured seven ties and five lead changes.

Roosevelt built a 19-14 lead only to see it slip away. The Red Raiders rallied and closed to 20-19 on Tialei Wesley's kill. But Yamashiro answered back to give Roosevelt some breathing room.

Kahuku reeled off four consecutive points — two coming off unforced Roosevelt errors and the other two off Nile Te'o kills — to reclaim the lead.

Roosevelt took a timeout, trailing 23-21.

However, the ensuing Kahuku serve sailed long and Maeda served up an ace to tie the game at 23. Yamashiro put away another kill and Kahuku hit long on game point.

The difference came down to one word for Kahuku head coach Uila Fotu Vendiola: "Intensity."

"Our intensity, our lack of intensity," she said. "We'd rather not have any losses, but this was a good wake up call. We didn't play like how we're capable and that's a tougher pill to swallow than the loss."

Game 2 was more of a Rough Riders' blitz.

The Rough Riders went back to Maeda and Yamashiro, and both responded admirably.

Yamashiro had five kills and two aces in the second game while Maeda put down four kills.

Reach Kalani Takase at ktakase@honoluluadvertiser.com.