Saint Francis' Lexis Satele puts up a set against Sacred Hearts. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Saint Francis' Lexis Satele puts up a set against Sacred Hearts. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Tyler-Marie Mau spiked 12 kills and Kololia Shelby Atoa-Williams added seven kills and one ace last night to help Saint Francis sweep Sacred Hearts, 25-22, 25-16.

The victory before an energetic Senior Night crowd of about 250 at Sacred Hearts improved the Saints to 8-0 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II race heading into tomorrow's 4:30 p.m. showdown with Hawai'i Baptist (8-0) at Punahou. That match will be televised live statewide on OC16.

"We lost to them in the (Kamehameha-Maui) preseason (tournament), but it was a close match and we've grown as a team," said Mau, a 6-foot-1 junior outside hitter. "We talk about taking everything day-by-day, game-by-game. We work as a team, win as a team and lose as a team."

The Saints needed that focus and cohesiveness last night, with Sacred Hearts (5-3) backed by a loud and proud fan base. The match started out tight until Atoa-Williams had two kills and Pualehua Keola served two aces to spark a 6-1 run that put Saint Francis ahead, 13-7.

Kills by Harlee Meyers and Jedidah Hanakahi later pushed the lead to 19-11 before Shawna-Lei Santos had three kills and an ace to help the Lancers scratch back to close it to 21-18. The Saints responded with three straight points to make it 24-18, but Sacred Hearts fought back again and cut it to 24-22 after a double-block by Maria Leinweber and Jackie Baginski and a kill by Baginski.

Saint Francis then ended the set on Atoa-Williams' kill.

The Saints opened Game 2 with a kill by Mau and kept the lead throughout, extending it to 9-3 before the Lancers rallied and closed it to 14-13 on a block by Santos. Hanakahi then capped a 5-0 run with three aces to push the lead to 19-13.

Sacred Hearts could only get as close as 21-16 thereafter, and Atoa-Williams' kill put the finishing touch on a 4-0 run to close out the match.

Saint Francis served 10 aces, including three each by Hanakahi and Keola and two by Lexis Satele.

"Our serve has been keeping us steady the whole season," Saints coach Sonja Samsonas said.

Lancers coach Derwin Tsutsui said his team struggled on their side of the net.

"Saint Francis played well, but we had 29 errors in two sets," Tsutsui said. "It's all about focus and consistency."

Santos, one of only three Sacred Hearts seniors, led the Lancers with seven kills and added one block and one ace.