Word of Life right side hitter Chanteal Satele, one of prepvol-leyball.com's national Top 100 "Senior Aces," went up against Punahou, one of the nation's elite programs, last night at the Buffanblu's Hemmeter Field House.

It promised to be an interesting challenge, but Satele and the Firebrands went down swinging, 25-16, 25-10 in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu match.

Punahou, ranked No. 3 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, improved to 10-1 in the ILH. Word of Life, which is classified as a Division II team, fell to 5-5.

The 5-foot-9 Satele started strong, with five kills in the first game. But she was quieter in the second, when the Buffanblu surged to an 11-1 run with her in the back row, for a 17-6 lead.

Satele finished with seven kills in 16 attempts, with three errors.

"She did better against Kamehameha," said Word of Life coach Lee Ann Satele, referring to her daughter's 17-kill effort in a 25-19, 25-18 loss to the No. 2 Warriors last Thursday. "Tonight we just didn't play well."

A lot of that had to do with Punahou, which was led by Anuhea Keanini's six kills and two aces. Courtney Lelepali also had two aces and served eight straight points during the Buffanblu's 11-1 run in the second game.

Satele and the Firebrands don't have time to sulk over last night's loss, as they face Sacred Hearts (7-3) tomorrow in a rematch of last year's ILH Division II championship match won by Word of Life. Sacred Hearts has since moved up to DI.

The competition is good practice for Satele, who has made a verbal commitment to play for NCAA Division I St. Mary's (Calif.) next year. She visited the Gaels' campus in the quaint Bay Area town of Moraga, Calif., two weekends ago and was hosted by 'Iolani graduates Megan Burton and Kapua Kamana'o.

The three girls were club teammates for Imi Ike in Honolulu.

"It was really nice," Satele said of the visit.

Lee Ann Satele said, "We e-mailed the coaches with some questions, and they wrote back and had a plan just for her. We feel good about it; it looks like they'll take good care of her."

According to www.prepvolleyball.com, Satele has a "million dollar arm and the volleyball IQ to match," calling her "one of the most dominating right sides in her class" nationally.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.