Kahuku's Sina Tonga puts up a set against Pearl City. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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1031121849_KahPC 157.jpg - Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Adora Anae had 14 kills and second-seeded Kahuku cruised past Pearl City, 25-11, 25-12, 25-17, in quarterfinal action of the New City Nissan Division I state girls' volleyball tournament Wednesday night at Kaimuki High.

The Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Red Raiders (15-1) will face Interscholastic League of Honolulu runner-up Kamehameha-Kapalama (15-3) in a 7 p.m. semifinal Thursday at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium.

Both squads match up well with their athleticism. Aside from the other semifinalists, the Red Raiders and Warriors are probably the only ones who can dig the vicious serves and hits from each other.

"We have to make sure we bring our best match tomorrow at 7 o'clock," Kamehameha coach Chris Blake said.

"They're playing ILH so they're playing tough teams all of the time," Kahuku coach Camilla Ah Hoy said. "I know they're scrappy, I know they have a very good coach and they have a lot of experience."

Pearl City (10-6) was the OIA's sixth representative and the disparity from playing the league champion was evident. With commanding leads in the first two sets, Ah Hoy was able to give her starters breathers throughout the match.

"It was good to give our starters some rest," she said. "We play three days in a row. That's a lot. If the other girls can get in, it's beneficial to us."

The Chargers were not match for Kahuku's serving (four aces) and hitting. The only reason Pearl City reached double-digit scoring in the first set was from five Kahuku service errors and three hitting errors.

The second set wasn't any easier for the Chargers, who fell behind 18-5 at one point. Six service errors by Kahuku accounted for half of Pearl City's scoring.

Pearl City did not take the lead until the start of the third set and three other times later. The Chargers tied it at 10, but the Red Raiders began pulling away slowly. The Chargers would pull to within 17-15, but after a service error, Kahuku strung four consecutive points with Pati Anae serving and eventually closed out the match.

"We did OK the first two sets," Ah Hoy said.. "The third set was kind of chugging along, but we were still able to pull it out. We might have got too comfortable, so I called timeout."