With a mostly new 2008 starting lineup but the same confident finishing power, Kamehameha won its fourth straight Interscholastic League of Hono-lulu girls volleyball championship yesterday with a 25-17, 25-21, 27-25 sweep of Punahou.

A crowd of about 850 at the Warriors' Kekuhaupi'o Gym watched Kamehameha finish 17-2 in ILH play and earn the league's top seed and first-round bye for the state tournament. Punahou ended up 16-3 in the ILH and will begin state tourney play in Wednesday's first round.

Yesterday's sweep over the Buffanblu was Kamehameha's second in five days; the Warriors won the ILH second round with Tuesday's victory.

And it came with four starters replacing graduates now playing NCAA Division I volleyball.

"We really connected and bonded throughout the season," said Kamehameha senior setter Caitlin Andrade, one of only two returning starters. "I knew we could do it again with these girls, I did not question it one bit."

As they did in each of their three previous meetings, the teams played almost even at the start of all three sets. But yesterday the Warriors found a way to come up with clutch points when it counted most.

The first set was knotted at 11-11 when senior outside hitter Whitney Viveiros' push shot found an open spot in the Punahou defense to start a 6-1 run. After Anuhea Keanini pounded two kills to close it to 17-14, freshman Misty Ma'a landed a kill to start another 6-1 run to give Kamehameha a commanding 23-15 lead.

The Buffanblu went up 13-9 in the second set after a 6-0 run sparked by Brigitte Russo's block and kill. But Viveiros had a kill to end the string and later landed an offspeed shot to tie it at 13-13.

After Tai Manu-Olevao answered with a kill to give Punahou a 14-13 lead, the Buffanblu committed a serving error and then were called for a double-hit violation, giving the Warriors the lead for good at 15-14. Viveiros later had a kill and ace as Kamehameha eventually went up 19-15, and Talia Jardin's quick kill down the middle, an outside spike by Taylor Akana and Alex Akana's block made it 22-16.

Keanini had a kill and an ace to help close it to 22-20, but Alex Akana answered with back-to-back blocks and — after a Warriors hitting error — the set ended on a Punahou jump serve that went into the net.

"They got a lot more quality swings than we did," Buffanblu coach Jim Iams said. "It seemed like every time they got out of their system, they still were able to improve the ball and get it up to have someone swing at it. That put a lot of pressure on our first pass or first dig, and we just were not getting quality swings."

Punahou built a 22-17 lead in the third set, but Kamehameha clawed back and tied it at 23-23 after consecutive kills by Alex Akana. A reach call gave the Buffanblu game point at 24-23, but Andrade won a joust at the net to tie it again and Jardin won another joust to give the Warriors match point at 25-24.

After Russo's kill tied it again, Punahou served into the net and a line shot by Keanini was just wide, ending the match.

"I'm definitely happy with our effort, especially at the end of Set 3," Kamehameha coach Chris Blake said. "The girls chipped away and showed their focus."

The Akanas each had nine kills to lead a balanced attack, and Alex Akana added four blocks. Keanini and Manu-Olevao each had 10 kills to lead the Buffanblu.