Making its first move as the Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls volleyball season enters a critical stretch, Punahou swept past visiting 'Iolani, 25-21, 25-18, yesterday before a crowd of about 550 at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

The Buffanblu, ranked No. 1 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, improved to 12-0 and moved into a first-place tie with Kamehameha (12-0) atop the ILH standings. The Raiders, ranked No. 3, fell to 11-2.

Kamehameha spent the weekend in Las Vegas competing in the prestigious Durango Fall Classic; after going 1-2 in pool play Friday, the Warriors won four matches yesterday to capture the Bronze Bracket title and finish 17th overall out of 48 teams. Kamehameha faces No. 7 Hawai'i Baptist (10-2) on Tuesday — the same night Punahou plays Sacred Hearts (10-2).

On Thursday, Punahou and No. 2 Kamehameha square off.

"That pumps us up even more, to be playing all these big teams," said Buffanblu sophomore outside hitter Tai Manu-Olevao, who finished with a match-high 12 kills yesterday. "We felt really pumped up to play 'Iolani."

Things did not start out as planned, however, as the Raiders broke a 7-7 tie with six straight points to go up, 13-7, in the first set.

But Punahou clawed back and eventually tied it at 16-16 on a kill by Manu-Olevao. The Buffanblu then took the lead for good at 18-17 when an 'Iolani tip shot fell out of bounds, and finished with a strong 4-1 run highlighted by two kills and a block by Brigitte Russo.

"I told the team afterward that they didn't play as well as they could have, but I liked the way they handled the adversity and didn't panic," Punahou coach Jim Iams said. "I think they used the deficit to focus, and they recovered quickly."

Manu-Olevao caught fire in the second set, breaking a 7-7 tie with an angle shot off a back row defender and then following that with an uncontested line spike from the left side. The Buffanblu maintained the lead, though the Raiders closed to 18-17 after falling behind 16-11.

But the comeback got derailed by a net violation and then a double-hit call and hitting error, and another kill by Manu-Olevao made it 22-17. Another 'Iolani error pushed the lead to 23-17, and an ace by Malia Patterson made it 24-17.

After a Punahou serving error, Carina Thompson put an exclamation point on the match with a kill down the middle.

'Iolani coach Jenic Tumaneng said his team — already with several members battling illness — suffered from passing problems that limited in-system swings.

"We gave (the Buffanblu) too many free balls, and they have the girls who can put it away," Tumaneng said.

Thompson added seven kills for Punahou.

DURANGO (LAS VEGAS) FALL CLASSIC

Kamehameha def. Green Valley (Henderson, Nev.) 25-21, 25-20

Kamehameha def. Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) 25-19, 24-26, 25-22

Kamehameha def. Silverado (Las Vegas) 25-20, 25-21

Kamehameha def. La Costa Canyon (Carslbad, Calif.) 25-16, 25-22