KAHUKU — Down one game to zero and trailing 9-1 in the second, Roosevelt's girls stunned Kahuku as they rallied for a 20-25, 25-19, 25-14 victory last night in a rematch of the 2005 O'ahu Interscholastic Association volleyball championship match.

It was the OIA Red Conference opener for both teams.

"It's awesome," said Rough Riders senior Kahea Pupuhi, who finished with a match-high 12 kills. "Our coach (Bryan Camello) said this was the first time Roosevelt's won here in seven years."

It was a rare home loss, period, for the two-time defending OIA champion Red Raiders. Kahuku lost six seniors from last year's team, including four-year letterman Camilla Ah-Hoy, and were without injured starters Leilani Tafuna (back spasms) and Alayna Galea'i (knee).

"But we still have a lot of weapons," Red Raiders coach Mona Ah-Hoy said. "Leilani gives us a lot of leadership, and that's what we were missing tonight."

Kahuku started slowly, trailing 6-1 to start the match. But after a timeout, the Red Raiders regrouped and tied it 7-7 after three consecutive Roosevelt errors.

They took the lead for good at 9-8 after another Rough Riders error, and eventually built it to 23-17 after kills by Taeja Afalava and Tiale Wesley.

Roosevelt closed to 23-20 after a Kahuku error, but another kill by Wesley and a Rough Riders error ended it.

Four consecutive errors helped put Roosevelt in a 9-1 hole to start the second game.

"We had no communication and no intensity," said Pupuhi, a 5-foot-5 outside hitter. "We weren't focused, we were sleeping. The timeout (at 9-1) really helped us."

Camello said he challenged his team during the break.

"I asked them, 'Are you gonna give up and quit, or are you going to come back and fight?' " Camello said. "They came back and fought. The girls stepped it up."

An ace by Emily Maeda and a kill by Pupuhi helped cut the lead in half at 10-5, and Roosevelt finally tied it at 14 after a Red Raiders error. The game stayed tight until the Rough Riders ended it with a 6-0 run, including three soft kills by Pupuhi.

Roosevelt kept the momentum going in the third game, racing to a 10-1 lead. The closest Kahuku got after that was 12-7, but the Rough Riders got stronger from that point and cruised to the finish.

Roosevelt, which lost only three seniors from last year's team that took third place in the state tournament, faces another tough test on Saturday against Moanalua.

"Then we play Farrington after that," Camello said. "The way they set up this year's schedule, we've got to come hard mentally every night."

In another OIA Red East girls showdown, Moanalua beat Kalani, 25-17, 25-17.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.