Leilani Tafuna, Alayna Galea'i and Nile Te'o tallied six kills each as Kahuku rolled past Kealakehe, 25-13, 25-17, in the first round of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Division I Girls Volleyball State Championships last night at Kamehameha's Kekuhaupi'o Fieldhouse.

Leilani Tafuna, Alayna Galea'i and Nile Te'o tallied six kills each as Kahuku rolled past Kealakehe, 25-13, 25-17, in the first round of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Division I Girls Volleyball State Championships last night at Kamehameha's Kekuhaupi'o Fieldhouse.

"We just wanted to have fun and play as a team," said Tafuna, a junior outside hitter and co-captain. "That's what we did."

The Red Raiders (12-4), the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's third-place team, advance to face defending champion and top seed Kamehameha (17-1) in tonight's 7:30 quarterfinal at Kamehameha.

"It was a slow start for the girls, but they came back," Kahuku coach Mona Ah Hoy said. "If we have a slow start against Kamehameha, we're in trouble."

Kahuku scored nine consecutive points for a 15-5 lead in Game 1. Tafuna and McZeen Ale each had two kills during the surge. The Waveriders closed to 19-11 on a Kamehameha hitting error, but would get no closer as Te'o scored three of Kahuku's final six points.

"The first game was a little bit of nerves," Kealakehe coach Duke Hartfield said. "We had a lack of ball control on our part, and they had great ball control."

Kealakehe stormed back in the second game, taking a 7-2 lead on a kill by senior outside hitter Brittney Alapai. But Kahuku clawed back to tie it at 13, and went ahead 16-14 on consecutive aces by Ale. After a kill by Kealakehe's Mervlynn Simmons, Kahuku went on a 9-1 run to finish it.

Alapai led Kealakehe with five kills, and junior middle blocker Desci-Liani Haili Kailiwai-Ray added four. Kahuku had seven aces, three by Ale.

MOANALUA SWEEPS 'AIEA

Brianna Amian and Kaleinani Kabalis recorded nine kills apiece as Moanalua slipped past 'Aiea, 25-20, 25-22, in a first-round game at Kekuhaupi'o Fieldhouse.

Na Menehune (14-2), the OIA runner-up, will play Maui Interscholastic League champion and fourth-seed Kamehameha-Maui (11-1) in a quarterfinal tonight at 6 at Kamehameha.

Moanalua had been seeking a bounce-back victory after losing the OIA title match to Roosevelt 25-20, 21-25, 25-19 last Thursday.

"The girls were still not fully recovered from that loss to Roosevelt," Moanalua coach Tommy Lake said. "They really felt they were the better team. Hopefully, with tonight's victory we can get off the mat and get back into it."

Early on, it didn't appear Moanalua would rebound as 'Aiea took an 8-3 lead in the first game. Moanalua rallied to tie it twice at 12-all and 15-all, and took a brief 16-15 lead on a kill by Melanie Manutai. The game was close until Moanalua moved ahead 22-20 on an 'Aiea passing and hitting error. Na Menehune ended the game with two kills by Kabalis and one by Sarah Robinson.

"I guess we took them lightly, a little," Kabalis said of 'Aiea. "That's why we kind of struggled in the first game. But at the end, we just relaxed and cooled down. We just played our game."

Moanalua took a 9-4 lead in Game 2, only to see Na Ali'i mount a comeback and eventually tie the score at 21 on two consecutive hitting errors by Kabalis. But Kabalis responded with a tip kill, and following an 'Aiea hitting error, she served an ace for a 24-21 lead. Moanalua eventually won the match on Amian's kill.

"We just didn't get it done tonight," 'Aiea coach Blythe Yamamoto said. "Hat's off to Moanalua."

Senior outside hitter Brandi Pascua-Aipa led 'Aiea with six kills.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com.