Hawai'i Baptist is one of those small, scrappy volleyball teams that went a long way this season.

All the way to the first girls state volleyball title in school history.

Sarah Palmer had 11 kills and C'era Oliveira added nine as Hawai'i Baptist beat Seabury Hall, 25-17, 25-16, in the final of the New City Nissan Girls Volleyball Division II State Championships last night at McKinley.

"It's incredible. I didn't think we'd be able to get this far," said Hawai'i Baptist's Leah Shizuru. "We're challenged height-wise, but we dig and play defense."

Hawai'i Baptist, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion and No. 1 seed, ended the match on a 10-1 run. Palmer, a sophomore, had four kills during the spurt, including the final three points of the match.

"It was awesome. I was just so pumped up for it," said Palmer, who is the tallest Hawai'i Baptist player at a generously listed 5-11. "One led to another, which led to another, and it gave us the game."

The Eagles had 20 kills, four hitting errors and hit .348 in the second game.

Hawai'i Baptist (17-4) moved to Division II before the season, and this team also holds the distinction of winning the first ILH volleyball title in school history.

"The girls worked really hard and we were just hoping it would pay off at the end," said Hawai'i Baptist coach Myles Shioji. "They did what they were asked all season and I couldn't be any happier for them."

Hawai'i Baptist hit .263 for the match, while Seabury Hall hit .048.

Hawai'i Baptist went on an 11-3 run to take a 15-7 lead in the first game. The Spartans got within 20-16, but the Eagles went on a game-ending 5-1 run aided by three hitting errors.

In addition to Palmer's four kills, Oliveira had two, and Chelsie Mow, Shizuru and Keisha Miura each added one during the Eagles' match-ending 10-1 rally. The other point came on a rotation violation by the Spartans.

Palmer was named tournament Most Outstanding Player.

"I just wanted to play smart and play for my team so we could get this state title," she said.

Oliveira, a 5-6 sophomore, took 19 swings, had one error and hit a match-high .421.

"I never thought we could get this far," she said. "I'm so proud of my team. I'm still shaken up."

Palmer and Jenna Kawamura had seven digs apiece for the Eagles and Kelly Chang added six. Miura tallied 23 assists.

"Our passing and serve-receive, those are the two things we have to do," Shioji said. "The offense will take care of itself. If you don't play defense ... I mean defense wins championships, right?

Seabury Hall, the Maui Interscholastic League champion and No. 2 seed, failed to become the first team from Maui to win a girls state volleyball title. The first tournament was played in 1969. There have been three DII tournaments, with the ILH winning each.

"Getting to the finals obviously wasn't the end goal, but hey, we did our best and I'm proud of the girls," said Seabury Hall coach Scottie Zucco.

Alex Bolduc had five kills to lead Seabury Hall (14-1).

CONSOLATION MATCH

UNIVERSITY HIGH (14-7) 25 25

HONOKA'A (12-7) 16 21

Kills—UH: Brennan Clark 19. Hono: Jamaika Lorenzo 9. Digs—UH: Clark 5. Hono: Jenny Lorenzo 5. Assists—UH: Courtnee Nunokawa 25. Hono: Lauren Domingo 10, Kaylene Kanekoa 10.

FIFTH-PLACE MATCH

HILO (17-2) 25 23 25

WAIMEA (9-4) 22 25 23

Kills—Hilo: Makamae Namahoe 13. Waim: Tatum Gonsalves 12. Digs—Hilo: Rose Peace 11. Waim: Macy Parangao 8. Assists—Hilo: Blossom Evans 28. Waim: Qula Prangao 13.

THIRD-PLACE MATCH

WORD OF LIFE (15-7) 25 23 25

MOLOKA'I (12-4) 17 25 18

Kills—WOL: Chanteal Satele 21. Molo: Kelsy Takashima 12. Digs—WOL: Tianna Pearson 6, Nicole Sepulveda 6. Molo: Lauriel Hernandez 8. Assists—WOL: Rayane Alvarado 20. Molo: Danna Hooper-Juario 21.

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.