Kahuku fell to 6-1.

Senior outside hitter Danie Hout had 18 kills, two blocks and an ace to lead Moanalua, and sophomore Bri Amian added nine kills and three blocks.

The third game was tight until the end, with the Red Raiders closing to 24-23 on an ace by Leeann Mapu. But Hout finished it off with a right-side kill that was blocked out of bounds.

"It was all about our mentality," said Menehunes senior co-captain Na'a Iaela. "Kahuku is huge and they slam the ball, but for us it was just staying calm and knowing where to place it. Our bench really pulled through for us, too."

The Red Raiders showed their power in the first game, getting seven kills from Camilla Ah-Hoy, four from Aisha Ale and three from Ane Vea. But Moanalua rebounded in a big way in game two, jumping out to leads of 6-1 and 14-4.

"All our sets were high, and that gave (the Menehunes) all day to set up a block," Kahuku coach Mona Ah-Hoy said. "After the first game, we just couldn't get our passing together and whenever we would get the momentum back, we'd serve it out."

The third game was tied 12 times as the teams traded errors and points, until Moanalua finally took the lead for good at 17-16 on a net violation. The Menehunes went up 22-18 on a kill by Hout, then the Red Raiders crept back with kills by Ah-Hoy and Lily Latu, a Moanalua error and Mapu's ace.

But Hout ended it with a line shot that was blocked by two Kahuku players before landing just outside the stripe.

Ah-Hoy led the Red Raiders with 15 kills.

Mona Ah-Hoy said the Menehunes' defense was a big factor in the match. In addition to her kills, blocks and ace, Hout led both teams with countless digs.

"They kept a lot of balls alive," Ah-Hoy said. "They lost a lot of seniors from last year, but they still have Danie and their younger players have really stepped up."

Iaela said Moanalua never considered the heavy losses to graduation an impossible obstacle to overcome. She said the Menehunes have made up for the lack of experience in other ways, so the 6-0 start is not a huge surprise to them.

"It's not so much being undefeated as how much we push each other," Iaela said. "In practice we run a mile, we do sprints, we lift weights. And we don't care who starts — the main thing is that we just have fun. That's the good part about this team: we can all jell together."