Sarah Palmer had 14 kills and C'era Oliveira added 11 kills last night to help Hawai'i Baptist hold off Word of Life, 25-23, 25-22, 25-12, for its third straight Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II girls volleyball championship.

A crowd of about 550 at steamy HBA Gym watched the Eagles, ranked No. 4 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, finish the ILH season at 18-2 and earn the league's top seed and first-round bye in next week's DII state tournament. The Firebrands fell to 15-5 and will begin state tournament action in the first round on Oct 28.

Hawai'i Baptist is the two-time defending DII state champ, having edged Word of Life in last year's five-set title match thriller.

"As seniors, we all want to go out knowing we did our best," said Palmer, a senior outside hitter. "It's a big accomplishment for our team (to three-peat)."

Last night's sweep was only a few points away from having the tables turned, as the Firebrands led 23-21 in Game 1 and trailed 20-19 in the second set.

But Word of Life suffered breakdowns both times and the Eagles — as is their trademark — were quick to take advantage.

"We gave away a few points we shouldn't have and they capitalized," Firebrands coach LeeAnn Satele said. "They make you earn every point, and you cannot give any points away to them. That's what it came down to."

Word of Life rallied from an 11-3 deficit in the first set to tie it at 18-18 on Holli Kaina's block, then took the lead on a double-block by Jedidah Hanakahi and Lexis Satele.

The Firebrands later went up, 23-21, on Kainoa Ocasek's kill.

But they served the next ball out, and Oliveira tied it at 23-23 on a line kill from the left side. Word of Life's next two attacks went into the antennae and the net, allowing HBA to take a 1-0 match lead.

The Eagles built a 20-13 lead in the second set, only to see the Firebrands eventually pull to 20-19 on Adaiah Hanakahi's kill after a long rally. But Word of Life was called for a double-hit on the next play, and Krystal Oyasato's ace and a Firebrands hitting error made it 23-19.

Word of Life closed to 24-22 after a block by Kaina and Jedidah Hanakahi's kill, but another hitting error into the net ended it.

The third set was tied at 7-7, but CJ Asuncion served five straight points (including two aces) to spur a 6-0 run and the Firebrands never got closer than five points again.

Oyasato finished with three aces and Hawai'i Baptist served tough throughout the night, especially with short serves that dropped sharply after crossing the net.

"We were trying to get (Word of Life) out of their system any way we could, because they have good athletes and can come at you from any angle," Eagles coach Myles Shioji said. "We knew it'd be tough because we've had a lot of battles with them the past couple years. But our girls practiced and prepared and put in the hard work, so we've got to trust them in how they react."

UHS, LA PIETRA TO CLASH FOR THIRD DII STATE BERTH

University High outlasted St. Francis, 14-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-17, 15-11, last night at HBA to take third place in the ILH DII second round.

The Junior Rainbows advanced to tomorrow's 6 p.m. match at La Pietra for the league's third and final Division II state tournament berth.

La Pietra took third place in the first round.