Rallying back from a thrilling marathon loss in the first game, Kamehameha repeated as New City Nissan/HHSAA girls volleyball champion last night with a pulsating 35-37, 25-21, 25-21 victory over Interscholastic League of Honolulu rival Punahou.

A raucous Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 4,991 was on the edge of its seats from the opening serve, then watched the teams trade blows throughout an amazing first game that was tied 28 times with neither team ever leading by more than two points.

The top-seeded Warriors (20-1) quickly rebounded and jumped to a 5-0 lead in the second game before evening the match, then started strong again in Game 3 before holding off a late Buffanblu rally to win it all.

"This is a great thrill," said Kamehameha junior outside hitter Kanani Herring, who finished with 19 kills and 10 digs. "After that first game, we told ourselves we were not going to let down at this moment, because we've come so far. This championship wasn't handed to us in a pretty bag. We had to work for it all the way until the end."

The teams split their two ILH matches this season, with the Warriors sweeping the Buffanblu (19-4) two weeks ago for the league title.

But last night's first game showed how little separation there is between the two perennial powerhouses. Punahou served the first game point at 24-22, but a hitting error and Logan Keala's solo block tied it 24-24.

The game would be tied 11 more times, until a kill by Larissa Nordyke gave the Buffanblu a 36-35 lead. Liz Ka'aihue then ended it with a kill from the left side.

"It was unbelievable, like the old days when we'd have teams sideout back and forth," Punahou coach Jim Iams said. "It took all we had left, but it was good for volleyball in Hawaii'i. It showed the high level that we play here."

Kamehameha bounced back and evened the match after jumping to leads of 5-0, 10-3 and 14-5 in the second game. Punahou fought back and closed to 20-18, but Bekah Torres had two kills to help the Warriors close it out.

"The key was we never gave up, we had to keep going," said Torres, who finished with 14 kills and 10 digs. "In the tunnel after the first game, we told ourselves, 'This is not over.' We knew we could do it with heart. We didn't let up, and we knew we needed to fight for it."

Herring had eight kills in the decisive third game, in which the Warriors took leads of 5-1, 14-10 and 18-11. The Buffanblu eventually got as close as 20-18, but a kill by Herring pushed the lead back to three and Torres' kill on a middle attack ended it.

"It was just a great match on both sides, and I'm proud of both teams for the amount of heart and pride they showed," Kamehameha coach Chris Blake said. "That first game was epic, and it was great to be a part of that. I'm proud of every single player."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.