Kamehameha, the nation's No. 3-ranked girls team according to prepvolleyball.com, is now No. 2 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

'Iolani knocked off the two-time defending state champion Warriors, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19, last night before a vocal home crowd of about 750. The Raiders, ranked No. 2 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media and No. 47 in the nation by www.prepvolleyball.com, improved to 8-0 in the ILH and dropped Advertiser No. 1 Kamehameha to 7-1 (24-1 overall).

It was the Warriors' first loss in 39 matches and first league loss since being swept by Punahou on Sept. 16, 2007.

"Our adrenaline was pumping and we played hard as a team," said Raiders senior Leinani Keanini, who finished with a team-high 11 kills. "This year we have more chemistry, so we said this is the year to beat them."

'Iolani recovered from a first-game defeat, took control midway through the second game and then capitalized on rare breakdowns at the end of game 3.

After tying the third game 17-17 on a kill by Jordan Meredith, Kamehameha committed four hitting errors and two serving errors as the Raiders ended it with a surprising 8-2 run.

"'Iolani played well, and they were the better team tonight," Warriors coach Chris Blake said. "They executed, and we didn't execute when we needed to. But this is a hostile environment. Hats off to their band and to their fans."

Kamehameha overcame the environment in the first game, building a 20-14 lead after several Raider errors.

'Iolani closed to 22-21 on a kill by Chelsea Hardin, but the Warriors answered with Bekah Torres' kill and then setter Tati Santiago ended a long rally with a tip into the corner to make it 24-21. After Keanini's kill made it 24-22, Meredith ended it with a spike from the back row that hit the net, then rolled over and fell in.

A Kamehameha hitting error broke a 14-14 tie in the second game, and a kill by sophomore Alissa Youart capped an 8-3 run that put the Raiders up 22-17. The Warriors cut it to 23-21 after two straight 'Iolani errors, but Lauren Minkel landed a kill and then Kanani Herring hit long to even the match.

'Iolani built a 12-8 lead in the third game helped by sophomore Mahina Haina's two aces, but Torres notched two kills to help Kamehameha rally to tie it 13-13. The teams then went back and forth until the Warrior errors helped the Raiders break away.

"When you play a team like that, you take the points and errors they give us," 'Iolani coach Jenic Tumaneng said.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.