Likewise, the Eagles athletic program has long lived in the shadows of bigger schools in the Interscholastic League of Hono-lulu despite being a member since 1962.

With an enrollment of 400 in grades 9 through 12, HBA is about one-fourth the size of Kamehameha and Punahou.

The Eagles girls volleyball team, however, is showing this season that there is not much difference between the schools on the court. Hawai'i Baptist, with its tallest player at 5 feet 9, is off to a 9-2 start with a victory over 2001 state champion Iolani and narrow three-game losses to 2003 state finalists Punahou and Kamehameha.

The Eagles have made up for their lack of size with nifty digs, deft ball-handling and surprising poise for a team with only four seniors.

"They have a great defense, and they're steady the whole way," said Kamehameha sophomore Alexis Robins, one of the state's top all-around players. "And they have some good, strong hitters. They're not tall, but they can put it down."

Against defending state runner-up Kamehameha (10-1) on Saturday, HBA's leaders at the net were 5-7 sophomore outside hitter Kimberly Mow (10 kills) and 5-8 senior outside hitter Rayna Kitaguchi (three blocks).

But the Eagles also were able to stay in the match thanks to a stubborn defense led by 5-2 senior Jayme Lee (21 digs).

"Our strength is our defense and ball-control," said Higa, a 5-5 senior setter. "That's usually where we have an advantage over the other teams. That's how we make up for our lack of size."

Second-year coach Keith Sugiura, a 1990 Hawai'i Baptist graduate, said it's actually a school tradition.

"HBA volleyball, for years, has been predicated on defense," Sugiura said. "We never have size, so we almost just try to outlast other teams."

The style fits the players, all of whom are under 5-10 and most of whom train in the offseason with club teams.

"It's like our whole team is defensive specialists," Higa said.

The Eagles work endlessly to perfect their skills in practice, devoting up to 45 minutes each day to passing drills. In one drill, they must try to make 80 "perfect" passes in eight minutes or face penalties or punishment.

At the net, Hawai'i Baptist relies on scouting reports and strategic alignments to negate any height disadvantage.

"We look at (opponents') hitting tendencies and try to take away certain areas of the court," Sugiura said. "We'll use a 'swing-block' system, and Jayme Lee was a first-team ILH All-Star defensive specialist last year, so we give her freedom to move."

The result is a defense that keeps the ball alive longer than usual and keeps opposing teams on the move more than they would like. The longer rallies increase the chances for opponents to make a mistake, something which rarely happens on the Eagles' side of the court.

That is how HBA stretched defending state champ Punahou in a 25-17, 23-25, 25-20 defeat, a match in which the Eagles led 19-15 in the third game. It's also how Hawai'i Baptist took a game from Kamehameha and led 17-15 in the second.

"They're so steady, you really gotta work to earn a point," said Kamehameha coach Chris Blake. "We tried to exploit mismatches, but they don't make mistakes and they're a great ball-handling club. And they've got a couple of great front-row players who can hurt you, too."

On offense, the Eagles also turn to precision over power.

"We don't have the most strength, so we just try to place smart shots," Kitaguchi said. "We don't try to kill the ball every time."

Kitaguchi added that communication is key, as teammates tell one another where to attack.

"There's a lot of emphasis on placement," Kitaguchi said. "Someone from the back row will tell us that a single shot is open, or to tip it in the middle."

Sugiura said HBA also will mix things up by offering opponents different looks.

"We'll load certain places, maybe put two hitters on one block," Sugiura said. "Or we'll just go to a quicker tempo."

Then, there is the Eagles' poise, which remains steady whether taking a game from Punahou or Kamehameha or trailing by five points or more against the same team.

"We don't go in thinking 'Uh-oh, they have bigger girls,' " Lee said. "They use the same number of players that we do, and we don't really think of ourselves as underdogs."

Part of Hawai'i Baptist's inspiration comes from the fact that small schools like theirs have had recent success in the state tournament. St. Francis reached the state finals in 2000 and St. Joseph was the No. 1 seed in the 2002 state tournament before falling to Kahuku in the title match.

"If it's happening every other year, it must not be (a fluke)," Higa said.

Lee said the Eagles set two major goals before the season:

"Get to states," she said, "and then win states."