Castle coach Brannan Bajet knows all about Kelsie Bajet excelling at volleyball.

After all, he's her brother.

Kelsie Bajet had 12 kills and the Knights went on an 8-0 run midway through the third game in an 18-25, 25-22, 25-19 victory over University High last night in the first round of the New City Nissan Girls Volleyball Division II State Championships last night at McKinley.

"She's been doing it since she was small," said Brannan Bajet, 25.

Castle, the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's No. 3 team, overcame a phenomenal effort by University High's Brennan Clark, who had 27 kills — nine in each game.

Castle (12-5) will play No. 2 seed Seabury Hall, the Maui Interscholastic League champion, in the quarterfinals tonight at 6.

The Knights' 8-0 run in the third game gave them a 17-12 advantage. The lead reached 24-15.

"There are no words to describe how proud I am of them right now," Brannan Bajet said.

Kelsie Bajet, 18, had only one hitting error. She also set with some of her kills coming on crafty dump shots.

"From my brothers and cousins; it runs in the family," she said of the dump shots.

When asked if it's difficult coaching his sister, Brannan Bajet said: "Actually, no. She doesn't really think of me as her brother. She knows I'm her brother and her coach."

Added Kelsie Bajet, a 5-foot-5 senior: "It's hard because you have to be a role model. You have to listen and you can't talk back."

Clark, a 5-7 senior, had six hitting errors and had no problem putting balls down from the back row for University High (11-8), the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's No. 3 team.

"We were disciplined. We were up to the challenge," Brannan Bajet said. "If No. 11 (Clark) is hot, we just got to adjust to her."

WOL DEF. MCKINLEY

Chanteal Satele was her usual stellar self for Word of Life last night against McKinley.

Firebrands "X factor" Crystal Powell also came to play.

It would be a long night for McKinley.

Satele had 14 kills, Powell added 10 and Word of Life scored 10 in a row in the first game to beat host McKinley, 25-20, 25-19.

Word of Life will play No. 3 seed Hilo, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion, in the quarterfinals tonight at 7:30.

Satele, a 5-foot-10 senior, hammered down the final four points of the match. Nine of her kills came in the second and she finished with five hitting errors.

"What I was happy about was her leadership. She kept the team together, kept the team focused," Word of Life coach Lee Ann Satele said of her daughter.

Powell, a 5-9 junior, had eight kills in the second for Word of Life (13-6), the ILH runner-up.

"The key to us winning is Crystal. Crystal is our X factor," said Lee Ann Satele.

McKinley (14-3) , the OIA runner-up, was in control of the first game, but the Firebrands went on the 10-0 run to take a 16-11 lead. Rayane Alvarado served during the spurt.

In first-round matches at Radford, Waimea defeated Hawai'i Prep, 25-17, 25-20, and Moloka'i beat Honoka'a, 25-20, 25-22.

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.