KALIHI — The Castle girls volleyball team found its comfort zone behind the service line, and by effectively placing balls just over the block and in front of the back row last night against Kaua'i.

Castle served up 15 aces and repeatedly got kills on roll shots in a 25-17, 22-25, 25-12, 25-23 victory over Kaua'i in the first round of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball Division II State Championships at Farrington.

Leading the Knights' service barrage was libero Malina Kekahuna, who served nine in a row, including four consecutive aces, in the fourth set.

Erika Jarrett had four aces, and Jayleen Royos and Joshell Lilio each added a pair for Castle, the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's No. 3 team.

"That's pretty much how we want the game to go," said Castle coach Brannan Bajet. "Serving is one of our strong points."

Castle plays No. 1 seed Hawai'i Baptist, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion, in the quarterfinals tonight at 7 at Farrington.

"We need to communicate more. We slacked in that game," said Castle's Malie Garcia, who had 13 kills.

Jarrett added 11 for Castle, which relied on placement rather than power.

"We always tell the girls to play smart volleyball," Bajet said. "You can't always have an aggressive hit. You have to change up to keep them on their toes."

Kaua'i, the Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation champion, plays Seabury Hall in a consolation match today at 3:30 p.m. at Farrington.

"We were just flat in all phases," said Kaua'i coach Corey Morishita. "We didn't play with energy. I don't know why."

In the first set, Castle (14-5) led 20-17 before the Knights' Lilio served out the remainder of the set, including an ace.

In the second, Castle led 21-19 before Kaua'i's Mikaila Naholoholo served four in a row to get the Red Raiders to set point. After a Kaua'i hitting error, Malia Kagawa ended it with a kill.

In the third set, Castle got off to a 14-4 start thanks to a Red Raiders' attack that had 10 hitting errors. The Red Raiders got within 19-12, but Jarrett got a kill and then served the final five points.

In the fourth, Kekahuna's service run gave the Knights a 16-6 lead. But Castle's passing broke down, which allowed Kaua'i (11-3) to take a 22-21 lead. The match was tied at 23-23 before consecutive Kaua'i hitting errors ended it.

Kagawa had seven of her nine kills in the fourth set. Jori-Ann Jasper led Kaua'i with 12 kills.

KAILUA SWEEPS SEABURY

Kayzsa Konohia had 14 kills and 18 digs, and Dancel Williams added nine kills and 20 digs as Kailua beat Seabury Hall, 25-19, 25-7, 27-25, in a first-round match last night at Farrington.

"We were smashing the ball as hard as we could to throw off their defense, and it worked," Konohia said.

Kailua, the OIA's runner-up, plays No. 4 seed Hilo, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion, in the quarterfinals today at 5 p.m. at Farrington.

The only trouble Kailua (15-3) had was in the third set when Seabury Hall, the Maui Interscholastic League runner-up, led 23-19. But three Spartans' hitting errors and an ace by Konohia gave Kailua match point.

The teams sided-out until a Spartans' hitting error ended it.

Seabury Hall (9-5) finished with 17 hitting errors and 11 service errors.

"To tell you the truth, it had a lot to do with the play on our side of the net," said Seabury Hall coach Scottie Zucco. "We didn't do much with the ball. We gave Kailua extra opportunities."