'Iolani barely dodged another Division II bullet last night, squeaking past Hawai'i Baptist, 27-25, 23-25, 25-22, in Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls volleyball action at the Raiders' gym.

'Iolani, ranked No. 4 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, improved to 7-1 in ILH play and trails Kamehameha (9-0) and Punahou (7-0) in the DI standings. The defending DII state champ Eagles, ranked No. 7, fell to 6-2 and into a tie for first in the DII standings with Word of Life (6-2).

The Raiders already suffered a loss to Word of Life 10 days ago, and a loss to HBA last season helped keep 'Iolani out of the state tournament.

The Raiders were pushed to the limit again last night, until a net violation broke a 22-22 tie in the third set and Alissa Youart spiked back-to-back kills to end it.

"It was a little shaky, but we pulled together when it counted," said 'Iolani senior outside hitter Mahina Haina, who finished with a team-high 18 kills. "We did what we were told, and our defense was crucial. We learned from (the DII losses), and now we don't take anything for granted."

The teams met twice in the preseason — in the Ann Kang Invitational and at the Kaua'i Challenge — with the Raiders winning both times in three close sets.

Last night's match followed suit.

'Iolani went up, 12-8, in the first set, only to see the Eagles tie it at 13-13 helped by Krystal Oyasato's two aces.

The teams then traded points until blocks by Georgette Lopes-Luitolo, Kamea Chock and Haina helped the Raiders pull ahead, 21-18. Hawai'i Baptist tied it again at 21-21 after Sarah Palmer's offspeed kill.

The Eagles served for game point at 24-23, but a hitting error tied it again. A second game point earned by C'era Oliveira's kill was negated by another hitting error.

Haina's kill then gave 'Iolani game point at 26-25 and Youart ended it with a solo block.

HBA jumped to a 12-6 lead in the second set, but the Raiders fought back to tie it at 13-13. Things stayed close again until the very end, when an 'Iolani serving error gave the Eagles game point and Oliveira finished it with a kill to end a long rally kept alive by Palmer's three digs.

The third set stayed tight from the beginning, with the Raiders taking their biggest lead at 12-9. But Hawai'i Baptist quickly tied it at 12-12.

'Iolani went up, 21-19, after an Eagles error, but Palmer won a joust at the net and Oyasato tied it with another ace. Haina's kill put the Raiders ahead, 22-21, but Palmer tied it again with an angle shot off the block.

Then came the net violation, and Youart's kill down the middle put 'Iolani at match point. She finished it with another middle hit that landed in an open spot in the front court.

"Our girls gave a good effort, but (the Raiders) are talented and they came prepared," HBA coach Myles Shioji said. "They executed when they needed to."

Palmer led the Eagles with 18 kills and Oliveira added 10 kills.

Youart added 11 kills for the Raiders.

'Iolani coach Jenic Tumaneng said he knew his team needed a strong defensive performance to match the Eagles' trademark ball-handling, which extends rallies.

"In the past week or so, we've been stressing defense," Tumaneng said. "We wanted to set a goal to get more digs. But HBA is so tough, even if you're up four or five points, you know they're going to make a run. We prepared ourselves for that, too."