The bright lights turned on, and the Waipahu Marauders rose to the occasion.

With a state-tournament berth on the line, senior Jeminae Solomua blasted 16 kills as Waipahu (10-2) swept Kaiser 25-19, 25-19, 25-20 on Thursday night at Mililani’s gym.

Waipahu advanced to the semifinal round of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I boys volleyball playoffs, sealing a state berth. The Marauders will meet Mililani in a semifinal match on Tuesday at Radford. Kaiser (7-4), the No. 2 seed out of the East, will play Campbell (7-5) on Tuesday at Farrington for one of the league’s remaining state berths.

Solomua’s mix of power and finesse, spikes and roll shots, put pressure on Kaiser from the first serve.

“They work hard for me. Jeminae is their leader and they follow his lead,” Marauders coach Julna Pasicaran said.

Waipahu ousted McKinley in a play-in game on Wednesday for the right to play in the quarterfinal round.

“I think we’re peaking at the right time,” Pasicaran added.

Solomua, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter, was dominant in the first and third sets, accumulating eight and seven kills. The Marauders’ balanced attack, directed by Nofoalii Saolotoga (30 assists, four kills, one ace) stymied Kaiser’s defense. Frank Vili, one of three freshmen recently called up from Waipahu’s junior-varsity team, added nine kills and sophomore Bradley Tacata tallied seven kills, three aces and one block.

In all, the Marauders had eight aces in the first two sets with just four service errors.

“We played OK, but Waipahu served tough,” Kaiser coach Clay Stanley said.

Kaiser had to deal with a disruption to its rotation when outside hitter Mark Dela Cruz suffered a gash to his chin and blood dripped on his jersey. He didn’t re-enter until Kaiser was down 13-10, and only after his jersey had been cleaned by a trainer.

The opening set was tied at 15 when Waipahu got hot. Kills by Solomua and Vili, along with an ace by Tacata, sparked a 7-2 run that opened a 22-17 lead.

The second game was a test of Kaiser’s mettle. The Cougars trailed 8-2, rallied to get within 10-8 and clung to that small deficit. After a kill by Aaron Brocket cut the lead to 20-19, however, the Cougars faded. A service error and a hitting error fueled a 5-0 run by Waipahu to close the game.

The third set was a runaway, as Waipahu’s serve continued to stifle the Cougars, who hit .500 in the first set and .114 after that.

Mililani 3, Campbell 0

The top-seeded team from the West, Mililani, got 18 kills and four aces from 6-1 senior Sila Fuiava in a 25-21, 25-21, 25-16 sweep of the Sabers. The Trojans (11-0) captured a state-tournament berth with the OIA quarterfinal win.

Nathaniel Johnson added nine kills and one ace, and middle Samuel Palompo tallied six blocks, one ace and 1.5 blocks. Sophomore setter Chance Guillermo dished 36 assists and had two kills.

Micah Anguay, a 6-4 senior, and middle Ryan Cabanilla had eight kills apiece for Campbell, which lost senior setter Jacob Wessling to an ankle injury late in the second set. He finished with nine assists, two kills and one ace.

Cabanilla, a 5-9 senior, and Anguay tallied three blocks each. Campbell outblocked Mililani 8-4, but hit just .266. The Trojans hit .316 and had seven aces to Campbell’s one.