An injured Larissa Nordyke returned at about 70 percent strength last night, and that was more than enough to lift Punahou's spirit and help the Buffanblu sweep Roosevelt 25-18, 25-21 in the semifinals of the New City Nissan Volleyball State Championships.

Punahou (19-3) will play Interscholastic League of Honolulu rival Kamehameha (19-1) at 7:30 tonight at Stan Sheriff Center for the title.

"I'm glad," said Buffanblu outside hitter Liz Ka'aihue, who finished with a match-high 11 kills. "It's my senior year, and it's nice to know we'll be playing for the championship again."

Ka'aihue and Nordyke helped Punahou win state titles in 2003 and 2004, but an injury-plagued junior year prevented the Buffanblu from qualifying for the 2005 state tournament.

Injuries again threatened to become a road block this season, as Nordyke sprained an ankle in Monday night's first-round victory over McKinley.

She sat out Tuesday night's three-game win over Kamehameha-Hawai'i, but tested the ankle yesterday during a short pre-game workout at campus. She then helped the Buffanblu jump out to a 7-1 lead in the first game, and they extended it to 14-4 at one point.

"It was good to have our normal lineup, it helped with our passing and our rotation," Ka'aihue said. "Our blocking scheme was a lot better."

The Rough Riders (13-4) regrouped and closed it to 20-16, but then had a serving error, two net violations and a hitting error as Punahou closed it out.

"We didn't come to play, and with Larissa back you could see that gave them a boost," Roosevelt coach Bryan Camello said. "They won every long rally and had great ball control."

In game two, Shawna-Lei Kuehu's ace broke a 4-4 tie and Punahou led the rest of the way. A 6-0 run gave the Buffanblu an 18-9 lead, but the Rough Riders rallied to close to 23-21 before a kill by Nordyke and Kuehu's solo block ended it.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.