Kawena Otineru watched her sister Aneli win two Interscholastic League of Honolulu and state volleyball championships as a member of Punahou's title teams the past two seasons.

Now Kawena, a St. Francis senior, has an ILH title of her own as the Troubadours swept Maryknoll, 25-16, 25-18, yesterday to win the league's Division II crown. Next week, they will compete in the inaugural Division II state tournament.

"It feels good; now we have something in common," Kawena said yesterday after notching nine kills and an ace at Kamehameha's Kekuhaupio Fieldhouse. "Even though we're in Division II, we still gave the Division I teams a good fight this season. We're looking forward to the state tournament."

St. Francis' only losses this season (against 14 victories) came against DI powerhouses Iolani, Kamehameha and Punahou, so the Troubadours have yet to lose to a Division II team. They looked clearly superior last night, scoring seven straight points to take a 14-7 lead in the first game and then finishing the match with an 8-2 run.

Kylie Harrington had nine kills to lead St. Francis.

The Troubadours displayed the killer instinct despite having a safety net after winning the ILH's Division II first round. If Maryknoll (9-9) had won yesterday, the teams would have played again tomorrow to decide the DII title.

But Otineru said Plan B was never really an option.

"Our coach (Eric Perry) would have been mad if we thought that way," Otineru said. "He said we have the opportunity to win it today, so we might as well take it now and get it over with."

Perry said his team played with the right amount of passion.

"I told them I want them to play with fire, and they were really motivated," he said. "They pushed hard in practice and did the job today."

St. Francis, an all-girls school with an enrollment of about 400 in grades 7 to 12, reached the state championship match in 2000, when there was no Division II. The Troubadours have tried to maintain the high standards, but Perry said he's happy for next week's DII opportunity.

"We kind of like playing with the Division I teams," Perry said, "but I think being in the state tournament (again) is nice for the school."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.