The champs got off the canvas.

Withstanding a fierce Mid-Pacific attack, Kamehameha rallied for a 22-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-20 win on Tuesday night at Kekuhaupio Gymnasium to secure a state-tournament berth.

Junior outside hitter Kalawelolehua Chock led the Warriors with 27 kills, one ace and one block, demonstrating power from the left and right sides. Senior Kamana‘o‘okalani Goldstein added 17 kills and one ace, while junior Kalamakuokanaauao Crabbe tallied eight kills and two aces. Middle Alohalani Chun had four kills and four block assists, and middle Kealoha Lyons chipped in two kills and two blocks. Setter Tiahna Aldeguer dished 44 assists and had four of her five kills in the fourth set.

For now, they are simply grateful to get past a hot Mid-Pacific team that zoomed up the rankings to No. 6 after reverse-sweeping Punahou last week, eliminating the Buffanblu from contention. MPI, last year’s Division II state champion, was 0-9 in regular-season play. Kamehameha swept Mid-Pacific in each of their three regular-season matches.

“We expect everybody’s best match. They were a problem for all the teams in the ILH during the (regular) season, although the record doesn’t show it,” Kamehameha coach Chris Blake said. “They’re very well coached. Coach (David Bayne) does a great thing there. They’ve got a lot of great pieces there. We’re happy to come out with a win. The way that they played in that first set pushed us into a bunch of stuff. It took us awhile to get our footing, but we figured things out. It’s a testament to their coaching staff.”

Libero Ashli Lum clutched up with three aces, adding nine assists and a kill off a pancake dig.

Defending state champion Kamehameha (12-7 overall) stayed alive in the ILH’s round-two, double-elimination tournament and will face round-one winner ‘Iolani on Thursday. The Warriors, who lost to ‘Iolani in the first week of the tourney, will need to beat the undefeated Raiders twice to take round two, then beat them one more time to capture the ILH title.

Mid-Pacific was iron, as was Kamehameha, sharpening each other in a state semifinal-quality level battle.

“We didn’t watch any video. We knew that we had to focus on ourselves. We knew that they would come in with that kind of mindset. We knew we had to defend against that,” Chock said. “They came in with nothing to lose, but we got into our groove after that.”

Junior middle Destiny Look led Mid-Pacific (13-15 overall) with 21 kills. The 6-foot-tall track standout was efficient, hitting .429.

“I’ll remember everyone, all my seniors and being able to play with them and have fun with them for one last year,” Look said.

Kamehameha had swept Mid-Pacific in three regular-season matchups, but the Owls were a new team in the postseason.

“It felt amazing that we were able to work as a team and do what we’re capable of,” Look said. “When it came down to it, they’re a good team and we’re a good team, too. I think we played an amazing game and did our best.”

Bayne had waited a long time for his team to finally get a set off the Warriors.

“That’s kind of the expectation. That’s what we work hard for. That’s a machine over there. You’ve got to hold on and see if you can survive it,” Bayne said. “It’s always a challenge when you lose momentum to try and gain it back. We try to play like it’s 0-0 no matter what the score is. Those two (Chock, Goldstein), what are you going to do when they’re in the front row together. We’ve got a lot of young players, so hopefully the future is bright for us and we keep it going.”

Senior Nikko Stack added 12 kills, and senior Natasha Strongosky had eight kills.

Sophomore setter Milan Scanlan dished 36 assists, adding five kills and one ace. The loss ends the Owls’ season. Only two state berths are allotted to the ILH.

“After us focusing in more on ourselves as a team, we got better at our passing, more system balls in, put away more of our kills,” Chock said. “We had to track their prime hitters, 14 (Look) and 10 (Stack).”

The visitors were in full force from the start. After Kamehameha scored the opening point, the Owls went on an 11-1 run, featuring five kills from Look.

The Warriors rallied with five consecutive points before Lake called a timeout.

Aided by a few MPI errors, Kamehameha got within 13-12 on a 10-2 run. The visitors then regrouped and pushed the lead to 20-15 thanks to a roof by 6-foot freshman Tatiana Taylor and two Warriors hitting errors.

After a Kamehameha timeout, Stack and Look drilled kills, opening MPI’s margin to seven points. Kamehameha got within 23-22 behind three kills by Goldstein, but her one-handed push sailed over the back line. Strongosky’s kill then ended set one.

Look had seven kills in the opening set.

Kamehameha opened the second set with a slightly different look, lining up Crabbe at outside hitter with Goldstein on the right side. Goldstein’s strong finish to the opening set carried into the second with two quick kills from the back row, and after Lum’s back-to-back aces, the Warriors had an 8-2 lead.

After Goldstein set up Crabbe for her first kill, it was 9-2. The Warriors handled MPI’s serve with much more efficiency, allowing setter Tiahna Aldeguer to set Chock (seven kills, .700), Goldstein (four kills, .600) and Crabbe (four kills) smoothly.

The Owls got within 20-14 after an ace by Chlairyn Okuno, but the Warriors closed the second set with a 5-0 run. Crabbe delivered consecutive aces and Chun roofed Stack to end the game.

Another Lum ace sparked Kamehameha to start the third set. After a roof by Chock, the home team led 10-2, finding little resistance at the net from the visitors.

Of course, the momentum shift was due. The Owls got clean passing to help Scanlan pinpoint Look, who had six kills in six swings. Look’s tip kills, plus an ace from Mia Furoyama, brought MPI within 15-13.

Chock and Goldstein kept the Warriors in attack mode, scoring five of their next six points, including an ace by Goldstein. After a kill by Crabbe on an assist by Lum, and a right-side kill by Chock, Kamehameha led 23-18.

Mid-Pacific was back on track with an ace by Scanlan and a 4-1 lead to begin set four. It unraveled, however, with a combined five hitting errors from the left side and erratic passing that led to three overpass kills by Aldeguer. After a kill by Goldstein, Kamehameha was in control with a 13-7 lead at the media timeout, then opened the lead to 16-8.

MPI made one last push, going on an 8-1 run to get within 17-16. Furoyama delivered another ace, and after a step-out kill by Look, a dump kill by Scanlan and a left-side blast by Stack, it was a one-point game.

Chock came through again with two right-side kills as the Warriors protected their lead, stretching it to 20-17.

After a hitting error by Stack, Chock brought two more bazooka kills from the right side to give Kamehameha 23-17 edge.