Two-time defending boys volleyball state champion Punahou swept past a scrappy Waiakea team, 25-17, 25-11, last night but faces a tall order in tonight's semifinals against Kalaheo.

The semifinal is set for 7:30 p.m. at Punahou's Hemmeter Fieldhouse and will be televised live statewide on OC-16.

Roosevelt will face Kamehameha-Hawai'i in the other semifinal at McKinley, also set for 7:30 p.m.

Despite the lopsided scores, Waiakea proved to be a good first-night test for the Buffanblu, who improved to 19-0 in the regular and postseason.

The Warriors (16-2) were down 12-9 midway through the first game and Punahou had to earn most of its points against a tough defense.

"They're very scrappy and they dug a lot of balls," said Buffanblu outside hitter Spencer McLachlin, who led a balanced Punahou offense with five kills. "They have good middles and good outsides, so it took us a while to figure them out."

The Buffanblu took leads of 17-10 and 22-14 before ending it on a kill by McLachlin. Punahou started the second game with a 7-2 run and the closest Waiakea got after that was 11-7.

"They seemed more sharp in the second game and we gave up too many points in a row," Warriors coach Ecko Osorio said. "We gave up too many serves, and you cannot do that against a team like Punahou."

Osorio said Buffanblu setter Riley McKibbin kept Waiakea guessing at the net. "They didn't have to ride Spence, and it was hard for us to concentrate on him when McKibbin was mixing it up so well," he said.

KALAHEO DEFEATS LAHAINALUNA

Chase Moses had eight kills and Pono Wong had four aces to lead the Mustangs to a 25-13, 25-13 sweep of the Lunas.

Moses, a 6-foot-3 middle blocker, is one of eight Kalaheo players who are 6-2 or taller.

"Height-wise, we can match up with Punahou, but they have guys who were bred as volleyball players, and we're a school with no JV program," Mustangs coach Gavin Cook said. "It's a challenge we look forward to."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.