The hobbled Punahou School girls volleyball team survived a scare from Kamehameha-Hawai'i last night and advanced to the state semifinals with a 22-25, 25-15, 25-15 victory.

Punahou, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu runner-up, improved to 18-3 and will face O'ahu Interscholastic Association champion and No. 2 seed Roosevelt (13-3) in tonight's 7:30 semifinal at McKinley's Student Council Gym.

OIA runner-up Moanalua (15-2) will travel to ILH champ Kamehameha (18-1) for the other semifinal, also at 7:30.

Punahou played last night's match without 2004 Advertiser All-State outside hitter Larissa Nordyke, who sprained her right ankle in Monday's first-round win over McKinley.

Last week, the Buffanblu lost middle blocker Shaena-Lyn Kuehu to a leg injury.

Nordyke suited up last night and tried to warm-up, but she sat out the entire match. She said she hopes to be ready tonight, but her status will be determined for sure today.

The voids were apparent last night, as Punahou struggled throughout the first game and never led after a 10-10 tie.

"I think mentally, we were trying too hard, we were overcompensating," said Buffanblu senior outside hitter Liz Ka'aihue, who finished with a match-high 21 kills. "We had no idea about (Kamehameha-Hawai'i), and they came out strong."

The Warriors (16-1) hung tough early in the second game as well, until a 7-0 run put Punahou up, 20-11.

"We finally started to play our own game, and we found our groove," Ka'aihue said. "Serving was key, and our subs did a good job. And during the timeouts, we got a breather and had a chance to focus."

Junior middle blocker Shawna-Lei Kuehu had two kills and two blocks to help the Buffanblu jump out to a 7-2 lead in the third game, and the closest the Warriors got after that was 12-9.

"We weren't passing, and that's very important because that's the start of it all," said Kamehameha-Hawai'i coach Tammy Lee. "We didn't make plays, and we had too many missed opportunities."

Lee said even without Nordyke and Shaena-Lyn Kuehu, Ka'aihue and Shawna Kuehu proved to be too much to handle.

"We needed to be more solid on our blocks," Lee said. "With (Ka'aihue), you need to put something up and make her hit around it. And (Kuehu) seemed to get the big points at just the right times."

Kuehu finished with 13 kills and three blocks.

"We talked to the players before the match and they knew they had to step up, but the way to do that is by focusing on doing what you do best," Punahou coach Jim Iams said.

ROOSEVELT DEF. MAUI

The Rough Riders overcame a 17-9 deficit in the first game and went on to sweep the Maui Interscholastic League runner-up Sabers, 25-23, 25-20.

"We didn't bring our game at the start and we weren't playing aggressive," said Roosevelt junior outside hitter Emily Maeda, who finished with six kills. "But in this tournament, the teams are really good and you can tell everyone wants it bad."

Senior outside hitter Tasha Kuailani had three aces to help the Sabers (11-3) jump out to leads of 13-7 and 17-9, but the Rough Riders eventually tied it at 22-22 on a kill by Hoku Oleole.

Mele Yamashiro's kill put Roosevelt up 23-22 and a Maui hitting error two plays later ended it.

"We should have won the first game, but hat's off to Roosevelt," Sabers coach Derek Suzuki said.

The Rough Riders took a 14-13 lead in the second game and never looked back.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.