In an early season Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls volleyball showdown that appeared to be up for grabs, Punahou reached out and took it from Hawai'i Baptist, 26-24, 25-20, last night at HBA Gym.

The defending Division I state runner-up Buffanblu improved to 5-0 in ILH play; the defending DII state champion Eagles fell to 5-1.

Neither team looked consistently sharp, although Punahou jumped to a 12-4 lead in the first set. Hawai'i Baptist stormed back and eventually tied it at 21-21 on a kill by C'era Oliveira following a classic Eagles rally to keep the ball alive.

HBA later served for set point at 24-23, but Buffablu middle blocker Carina Thompson tied it again with a quick kill.

Juliana Behrens then put Punahou up, 25-24, on a clean angle shot from the left side, and the Buffanblu sealed set point after an Eagles hit attempt went long.

"That was scary — they gave us a run for our money," said Behrens, a 6-foot-1 senior. "If they won that first game, it might have given them more energy. I think we might have been a little nervous, it was our first away game. But after that, we felt more comfortable."

Punahou again started strong in the second set and took leads of 7-1 and 10-3 helped by Behrens' six kills.

Hawai'i Baptist fought back and closed to 20-15 after a kill by Oliveira, but the Eagles then were called for a net violation. Sarah Palmer's kill and a Buffanblu hitting error cut it to 23-20, but Behrens answered with a kill and then a double-contact by HBA ended the match.

"We started off way too slow, and if I knew what was wrong with us, I would have fixed it," Eagles coach Myles Shioji said. "We came back, but then it came down to making plays, and we made one too many errors, we hit one too many balls out."

Behrens finished with a match-high 14 kills, and Thompson — a 6-2 senior — added seven kills.

"Carina was on the team last year, but she didn't start," Punahou coach Jim Iams said. "She played well tonight. My feeling is, against HBA, that (middle attack) has to be part of our approach because they don't have a lot of size and that's one key area where we have the advantage. They're such a good defensive team, you have to take advantage of whatever edge you have."

Shioji said all of his players are under 6 feet tall, and the Eagles' starting outside hitters are 5-6.

"We never use size as an excuse, and we do what we can with what we have," Shioji said. "But when (the Buffanblu) run that quick middle attack with those two big girls, it's tough for anyone."

Behrens said going to the middle helped create more one-on-one matchups.

"Normally they stack the outsides (with blockers), so when we went to the middle it spread them out a little more," Behrens said. "They dig a lot of balls, but they don't have a lot of height."

Palmer and Oliveira led Hawai'i Baptist with nine kills each. Tai Manu-Olevao added five kills and a block for Punahou, and Brigitte Russo contributed four kills for the Buffanblu.

"I don't think either team played as well as they could have," Iams said. "We took a big lead, but then we gave it all right back. They gave us some points, too. They're a tough team to play, and this was their day to get us. It wasn't as pretty a match as either of us would have liked."