Capping off an intense eight-day stretch against some of the top girls volleyball teams from across the Mainland and Hawai'i, Kamehameha held off Punahou, 25-19, 20-25, 25-17, last night before a vocal crowd of about 700 at the Buffanblu's Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

The three-time defending state champion Warriors, ranked No. 1 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, improved to 9-0 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu; the No. 2-ranked Buffanblu fell to 7-1.

Kamehameha held off No. 5 Hawai'i Baptist on Sept. 16, then left the next day for Las Vegas to play in the prestigious Durango Fall Classic, where it went 5-2 and placed ninth in a 32-team field that included several nationally ranked programs. The Warriors returned to Honolulu at about 8 p.m. Sunday, then had a light practice Monday to prepare for the road match at Punahou.

"The trip was fun, and we had a good practice Monday," said Kamehameha middle blocker Alex Akana, who had seven kills, five blocks and an ace last night. "We came into this gym confident, and we didn't worry about jet lag or anything like that."

The Buffanblu jumped to a 7-2 lead in the first set, but Leia Matsunaga had three straight aces to help the Warriors tie it 7-7. After it was tied 14-14, Akana had three kills as Kamehameha pulled away to a 20-16 lead.

After Anuhea Keanini's kill closed it to 20-18, the Warriors took advantage of Punahou errors to finish with a 5-1 run capped by Talia Jardin's solo block.

The teams stayed tight throughout the second set, until Brigitte Russo's kill started the Buffanblu on a 5-0 run to force a third set.

"Between Games 2 and 3, I told the girls we need to want it more," said Kamehameha coach Chris Blake. "We served tougher and tried to pinpoint certain targets, and we executed well."

The Warriors stretched a 12-11 lead into a commanding 18-12 advantage helped by Jardin's two kills and an ace by Whitney Viveiros, and Akana contributed a block, kill and ace as Kamehameha closed out the match.

"They pinned us back a few times with their serve, and I thought we gave up some easy points," Punahou coach Jim Iams said. "But they earned their points too and certainly deserved to win."

Viveiros led the Warriors with 10 kills and 13 digs. Tai Manu-Olevao led the Buffanblu with 10 kills, and Courtney Lelepali led the defense with 11 digs.