Rallying just to make the state boys volleyball tournament, Pahoa rallied again — this time into the state semifinals.

Jonathan Viernes had 10 kills, Isaiah Ekau had nine and Manuel Munoz added eight as the Daggers upset fourth-seeded Campbell, 25-27, 25-12, 25-23, last night in the quarterfinals of the New City Nissan/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Division II state championships at Radford's James Alegre Gymnasium.

Pahoa (10-6), which almost didn't make its state tournament debut because of a lack of funds over the weekend, will now face top-seeded Hawai'i Baptist (11-4) in today's semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Support from community members, family and alumni on Monday helped make the trip possible.

"It's just a blessing to be here," Viernes said. "To make it this far, it's phenomenal. I'm so proud of them."

The Daggers trailed by seven twice early in Game 3 before chipping away at the Sabers (10-5), the O'ahu Interscholastic Association White champion, and capitalizing on Campbell errors.

Down 13-6, Pahoa cut the deficit to 14-13, behind two kills from Munoz, one from Ekau and four Campbell errors. The Sabers then got four kills from Lopa Lesa and an ace from Obadiah Mataio to take a 20-15 lead.

"We were down and coach just kept pushing us harder and to dig deep," Viernes said. "We came through, showed a lot of heart."

Two Viernes kills, the last on a dig that went over the net for a kill, cut the lead to 20-17 and forced Campbell to call a timeout.

Giuliano Stevenson's kill down the middle gave Campbell a 22-19 lead. A 6-1 run then helped the Daggers clinch the match.

Two Campbell net violations and a lift tied the game at 22 and Ekau's kill down the middle gave Pahoa a 23-22 lead, its first in Game 3. Christopher Mendoza's service error tied the score at 23, but Campbell was called for a net violation to make it match point, then couldn't get the ball over the net on its last play.

"The boys have heart, to come back from six, seven down during the key part of the game," Pahoa coach Ikaika Marzo said. "When Campbell's 23 (Lesa) went into the back, we had a strong rotation with Isaiah Ekau and Jonathan Viernes attacking. Jay Bumanglag had great digs during that stretch."

The Daggers rallied from a 16-9 deficit in Game 1, tied the score at 18, then led 22-19 after three straight Campbell hitting errors. Campbell rallied and won the game on two straight Lesa kills.

"Game 1 was jittery, really nervous," Viernes said. "As the match went on, we relaxed and settled down."

Pahoa never trailed in Game 2 and led by as much as 21-9.

"It's great, we love playing at a high intensity level," Ekau said. "We're trying to prove we can play at this high level."

Lesa led Campbell with 12 kills and Joseph Atimua added six.

Meanwhile, No. 1 Hawai'i Baptist swept Honoka'a, 25-20, 25-17, at Radford.

"They're an athletic bunch; it looks like they're inspired with their situation," HBA coach Teoni Obrey said of Pahoa. "It looks like they're playing good volleyball and we anticipate a pretty tough match. We need to make sure we do the little things to give us the best opportunity to succeed."

In quarterfinal action at Farrington, No. 3 Hilo defeated Waimea, 25-20, 24-26, 25-23. The Vikings (11-4) will face Hawai'i Prep (9-7) in tonight's semifinal at Farrington. Hawai'i Prep upset No. 2 Seabury Hall, 26-24, 25-23.

DIVISION I

PUNAHOU ADVANCES

At the Division I state tournament yesterday on Maui, Jacob Brovelli had six kills and Phillip White had five to help top-seeded Punahou beat Lahainaluna, 25-3, 25-13, at King Kekaulike High School. The three-time defending state champion Buffanblu (17-0) will face Roosevelt in tonight's semifinal. The Rough Riders (16-1) upset No. 4 Kamehameha-Maui, 25-18, 25-21.

"It'll be a lot different from the match that we just played," Punahou coach Rick Tune said. "Roosevelt has two big outsides (that) get a lot of their offense. They're highly skilled. They have a setter who knows how to get them the ball, a crafty and accurate setter, and have a couple nice pieces that mesh well.

"We're going to have our hands full, but the guys showed all year long that they love challenges. It's another challenge we have to meet."

In matches at Kamehameha-Maui, Brad Lawson had 12 kills and three blocks and Tyler Tanaka added five kills to help 'Iolani upset No. 3 Wai'anae, 25-18, 25-20. 'Iolani (14-4) will face Kamehameha (14-4), which upset No. 2 Kamehameha-Hawai'i, 25-15, 25-21.

"I think both teams have improved through the year," 'Iolani coach Mike Among said of Kamehameha. "We beat them first in the (Interscholastic League of Honolulu) first round and they beat us in the second round. I feel like we've improved since then and scouting them tonight, they have definitely improved since then. It's going to be a fun match, leave it all out there, see who's improved more and playing better ball."