Nue Wong had a game-high nine kills and Brytney Lanning-Yadao added eight to lead Waimea to a 25-15, 25-11 win over St. Joseph yesterday in the quarterfinal round of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball Division II State Championships at Punahou School's Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

Waimea, the Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation champion, improved to 10-0 and will face No. 1 seed Word of Life in the 7:30 p.m. semifinal at Punahou today. St. Joseph, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion, fell to 14-4 and plays Moloka'i in a consolation match at 6 p.m.

The Menehunes were in control throughout the match and never trailed.

"A little bit," said Waimea head coach Chad Delanoza when asked if he thought his team's performance has opened a few eyes. "The playoffs (for Waimea) have never gone this far so we're kind of in new waters, so we're enjoying and still trying to improve as the tournament goes along."

Waimea dispatched Wai'anae in a first-round match Monday, 25-15, 25-11.

The closest the Cardinals got last night was a 7-6 deficit in Game 1. However, three consecutive errors gave Waimea the cushion it needed and the Menehunes didn't let up.

St. Joseph didn't help itself either, three straight hitting errors capped a 6-1 run for Waimea to make it 17-10. Keola Jacunski ended the run with a kill, however, a service error followed to make it 18-11 and the Menehunes closed the game on a 7-4 run capped by a Chaslee Delanoza kill on game point.

"We just wanted to play good, solid defense and take the opportunities that were being presented," Delanoza said.

St. Joseph head coach Rachelle Hanohano took notice.

"They had great defense and they had a well-rounded attack and on our end we just made too many errors," she said. "They played a better game and they deserved to win."

Waimea jumped to a 5-1 lead in Game 2 and never let its lead diminish to less than three points.

The Menehunes, despite being unbeaten, were the only league champion not seeded and did not get a first-round bye. "I think we go unnoticed, but you cannot please everybody. Sometimes it's a break for us that nobody knows about us, nobody pays attention to us," said Delanoza.

Word of Life def. Moloka'i: The top-seeded Firebrands (15-5), of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, overcame the Lady Farmers (10-6), of the Maui Interscholastic League, 30-28, 25-14, before about 600 in the late quarterfinal. Moloka'i took a timeout following a net violation that gave Word of Life a 22-18 lead in the first game. The Lady Farmers rallied with five ties from 24-24 on, but couldn't take the lead and the Firebrands clinched the game on a Tiana Pearson kill. Moloka'i began the second game where it left off, forcing ties at 7 and 10, but Word of Life eventually pulled away and closed with a 10-5 run.

Sacred Hearts def. Seabury Hall: The Lancers (15-6), of the ILH, upset MIL champion and third-seeded Seabury Hall (11-2), 25-13, 25-23. Sacred Hearts will meet fellow-ILH member La Pietra in tonight's semifinal, 7:30 at Radford's Jim Alegre Gymnasium.

La Pietra def. Kalaheo: The Lady Panthers (11-9) rallied to beat OIA champion and No. 2 seed Kalaheo (10-5), 25-20, 18-25, 25-18. Sacred Hearts won the only other meeting with La Pietra during the ILH regular season.