The Punahou girls volleyball team, when it's crunch time and points are needed, leans to the left.

On that side, Larissa Nordyke and Elizabeth Ka'aihue are more than capable of ending rallies and hopes of other teams.

Nordyke had 14 kills and Ka'aihue added 12 as host Punahou edged 'Iolani, 26-24, 28-26, last night in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu playoff for the league's second state tournament berth.

ILH champion Kamehameha and Punahou (15-3) will represent the league in the state tournament, Nov. 6 to 9.

"I'm really excited right now," Nordyke said. "'Iolani played hard and everyone played their hardest and I'm really relieved we got into states and now it's another battle for the (state) championship."

The two Buffanblu seniors took turns terminating with Nordyke hammering nine kills in the first game and Kaaihue getting eight in the second.

"At some point you have to saddle up your big horses and let them carry you, and that's what they did," Punahou coach Jim Iams said. "Obviously, Larissa was on fire in Game 1 and Liz came on strong in Game 2; not that she was bad in Game 1 either."

In the first game, 'Iolani (13-4) went on a 4-0 run to take a 21-16 lead.

After a timeout, Punahou went on a 7-1 run with the help of Nordyke's three kills to take a 23-22 lead. Anuhea Keanini served the final three points of the rally, and also served three in a row earlier in the game.

"We have a couple of people throughout the year who have done a nice job serving and Anu is one of them," Iams said.

'Iolani fought off one game point when Lauren Minkel put down a kill to make it 24-24. The Buffanblu ended it with kills from Shawna-Lei Kuehu and Ka'aihue.

"I was swinging away, swinging to put it away," Ka'aihue said.

The Raiders took a 10-5 lead in the second game, but the Buffanblu caught them at 12-all.

There were 12 ties and one lead change the rest of the way.

Punahou scored the final two points on a double block by Keanini and Kuehu, and Nordyke ended it with a kill after a nice dig by libero Sydney Yogi.

"It was a hard match to play," 'Iolani coach Jenic Tumaneng said. "We just kept playing 'til the end and see what comes out. Obviously, the score — two points in each match — it could have gone either way. Give credit to Punahou, they played well."

Punahou and 'Iolani played four times this season with each team winning twice on its home court.

The Buffanblu had other chances to clinch a state berth before last night's match, but couldn't pull things out.

"At the first practice, I said whether you're ready for it or not, our goal is to win the states," Iams said. "It was out there for a long time. This was our third time to clinch it and we weren't going to get another one."

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.