The Kamehameha girls volleyball team has no shortage of weapons it can turn to in times of need, but make no mistake about it, Tiyana Hallums is its fearless leader.

Hallums, a 5-foot-9 senior, has started for the Warriors at outside hitter since her sophomore season. After being named a First Team All-Interscholastic League of Honolulu selection last year, Hallums has been phenomenal in 2014, landing on the All-Tournament Team at the prestigious Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas last weekend, while having already committed to play at Gonzaga next year.

"She's been there, she's been on our varsity, she's a three-year starter and she's the heart beat of our team," Warriors' coach Chris Blake said of Hallums, who powered her team to a three-set win over Punahou Thursday night.

The Buffanblu took the opening set off the Warriors, but the visitors clawed their way back in the second set.

"They put us into a lot of bad spots in game one," Blake said of Punahou. "We had a lot of key errors in set one and set two they were taking it to us, but I think our leaders decided to step up, make a few key plays and were able to catch them in set two and close the door."

Hallums was a big factor in the Warriors' big rally. She recorded seven of her match-high 16 kills in game two and scored four straight points during a pivotal 10-3 run that was essentially the difference in game three.

"I felt like I was doing really, really bad to tell you the truth and I felt like I owed it to my team and I needed to pick it up and make sure that I pulled my own weight," Hallums said, who put away match point.

Punahou coach Tanya Fuamatu-Anderson praised Hallums after the match Thursday.

"The kid is hard to stop, and a lot of it is that she has a skill set that definitely helps, but she's just super confident and she's fearless," Fuamatu-Anderson said. "For us, it's not a matter of stopping her — because it would be hard to stop a kid like that — but to try and just slow her down and not let her have her 20-kill type of game, but she's a good kid and a great player."

The Warriors aren't solely relying on Hallums, however. Brooke Kaawa, Kayla Afoa, Kealani Browne and Sarah Lau each had at least six kills, while libero Mia Heirakuji provided her usual, steady defense and setter Kamalani Akeo spread the sets around, much to Blake's liking.

Hallums believes Kamehameha's depth is a strong reason for its success.

"No one really knows how much the bench really incorporates into it," Hallums said. "Everyone thinks it's just the captains, but they give us so much energy and if it wasn't for them, we probably would have lost tonight."

The big picture, however, is the goal of a second straight Division I state title for the Warriors, who went 6-1 and placed fifth in the elite, 64-team Durango field. Their lone loss came against Southern California-power Redondo Union, which went on to tie for third.

"We really figured out our flaws and figured out what we need to work on," Hallums said. "Durango is always a good trip because you never see (6-foot-4) players out here, so we're just trying to play at a higher level."