For a good stretch, the ‘Iolani Raiders seemed invincible, a Marvel Universe-level squad of unstoppable, skilled and mega-powered volleyball superheroes.

The top-ranked Raiders were superb for two sets against No. 2 Kamehameha on Tuesday night, then had to scratch and claw their way to a rugged 25-17, 25-20, 27-29, 25-22 win at Father Bray Athletic Center.

It was ‘Iolani’s first match since being voted No. 1 in the Star-Advertiser Girls Volleyball Top 10.

Poema Kalama-Kingma, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, led the way with 23 kills and three blocks.

Senior Callie Pieper had 13 kills, three aces and one block, and freshman Taimane Ainu‘u tallied 13 kills and one block to spark ‘Iolani, now 5-0 in ILH play (11-3 overall). Middle Georgie Lee added five kills, two blocks and one ace, while junior setter Bailey Nakanelua had another stellar performance with 54 assists, three kills, one ace and one block.

“Every year is like this, every match. As crazy as it is, I truly enjoy it, playing against well-coached teams,” Raiders coach Kainoa Obrey said. “It’s a grind, man. The kids pour a ton into it. They sacrifice quite a bit. They want to do their best for the team and you see what it brings out of each of them in these matches. That’s what helps prepare us for postseason.”

Kamehameha dropped to 3-2 in league play, but a fierce comeback in the third set changed the tone of the match. Junior Kalaweloilehua Chock led the Warriors with 20 kills and three blocks. Kamana‘o‘okalani Goldstein added 12 kills and two aces, middle Alohilani Chun had seven kills, and Bella Amey tallied five kills.

Ayva-Rae Malepeai chipped in four kills and an ace. Malepeai and backup middle Kealoha Lyons, both sophomores, provided clutch plays as the visiting Warriors rallied.

Setter Shaye Teves amassed 37 assists, four aces and two kills as Kamehameha moved from a 6-2 attack to a 5-1.

“ ‘Iolani’s a great, well-coached team. A lot of great players. They bring the best out of us. We’re trying to find a way to figure out what to do,” Warriors coach Chris Blake said. “We’re going to see them a few more times in our season, so every time we play them we want to make sure that we’re getting better. We fought hard and the team did a lot of great things tonight, but ‘Iolani came out on top tonight.”

The opening set felt like a resumption of last week’s match. Kamehameha didn’t play badly, and ‘Iolani simply had an abundance of weapons at full force.

The second set was different. Kamehameha jumped to a 4-1 lead before Pieper came up with two aces during a run that gave the Raiders a 5-4 lead. The home team opened the lead to three points, but hitting errors allowed the Warriors to close the gap. Ava Hipa’s ace tied it for Kamehameha at 16.

From there, ‘Iolani’s towering block took control. Annaura Reid-Gillet had a roof as the Raiders closed the second game with a 9-4 run.

After appearing invincible for two sets, the Raiders turned into mortals in set three. ‘Iolani opened the set with an 8-3 blitz, but Kamehameha got on a roll. Teves delivered two aces, including one that spun on top of the net before dropping. Chock connected on immaculate cross-court kills to the right back corner as Kamehameha seized a 13-11 lead.

‘Iolani stormed back and had control with a 23-19 edge, but Kamehameha responded. A roof by Lyons sparked the rally, and two aces by Goldstein during a 5-0 run gave the Warriors a 24-23 lead.

The lead changed three more times before Kamehameha got a kill by Goldstein to take the third set, 29-27.

Kamehameha’s momentum carried into the fourth set. The Warriors rallied from a 6-3 deficit for a 12-11 lead and held it until back-to-back hitting errors by Chock gave ‘Iolani a 21-19 edge.

When Kamehameha had almost everything covered, Nakanelua turned to right-side hitter Taimane Ainu‘u. With a 24-20 lead, ‘Iolani withstood two more kills by Chock, including one on a high back-to-the-net volley.

The Raiders then got a roof by Lee on Chun to end the match.

Both teams depart for the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas this week. Getting a break from the rugged ILH to face some of the nation’s best programs is a bit of a relief.

“Every single point is so magnified. You really have to earn it,” Obrey noted. “It wears on both sides a little bit. I think we’re just happy to get a good win against a good team. We found a way.”