Kapolei is the team with “little uniforms,” and for one set, they made the top-seeded and No. 1-ranked ‘Iolani Raiders wobble.

The OIA-runner up was within 21-20 of ‘Iolani in the second set, but the powerful Raiders regrouped and closed out the Hurricanes with a 25-17, 25-20, 25-9 semifinal sweep on Friday night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

Poema Kalama-Kingma, Georgie Lee and Taimane Ainu‘u led a balanced attack for ‘Iolani (24-6 overall). Kalama-Kingma, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, and Lee, a 6-2 sophomore middle, had 11 kills and four digs apiece. Ainu‘u, a 6-foot freshman, tallied 10 kills and 10 digs.

Junior setter Bailey Nakanelua, an Ohio State commit, had 34 assists, 14 digs and three kills in another flawless performance. Senior Callie Pieper had seven kills and seven digs.

“We had a game plan and we executed the game plan. That was the biggest thing about this game. It’s about how you master a game plan,” Raiders coach Kainoa Obrey said. “We executed at a high rate.”

Going at the middle was a point of emphasis.

“We’re lucky. We can create a few mismatches across the net. Georgie can score and it opens up a little more for our outside hitters in the long run,” Obrey noted.

Kapolei was within 21-20 in the second set after eight ‘Iolani hitting errors, almost all unchallenged at the net.

“At this point of the season, you give any team free points, it keeps them around and believing they have a chance. We talked about that and it’s good to see the girls come out with a better response. Kapolei is a well-coached team and we saw that coming in. We knew they would battle and be scrappy defensively, and we had to execute.”

Kapolei (22-10 overall) got nine kills from 5-9 senior outside hitter Leila Paraoan, who also had six digs. Tehani Fa‘asuamanu had four kills, five assists and six digs, while Anny Scott tallied four kills, 13 assists and six digs. Libero Kaitlin Kiko absorbed the majority of ‘Iolani’s heavy hitting and led the ’Canes with 11 digs.

“ ‘Iolani is really, very consistent,” longtime coach Naidah Gamurot said. “I thought we were going to pull it off in the second game. We did really well for a little team. We don’t even have enough small-sized uniforms. Nobody grew even an inch after last year.”

Kapolei lost to Moanalua in the OIA final last week, then knocked out Mililani in the opening round of the state tournament on Monday 19-25, 25-20, 20-25, 26-24, 15-11. The ‘Canes then eliminated BIIF champion Kamehameha-Hawaii on Thursday 25-19, 24-26, 25-15, 25-16.

ILH champion ‘Iolani will play ILH runner-up Kamehameha for the state title tonight at 7 at BYU-Hawaii’s Cannon Activities Center.

‘Iolani’s series of jump-serve floaters had Kapolei baffled early on. Nakanelua often went to her middle hitter, Lee. Pieper’s ace, plus two kills by Kalama-Kingma, sparked the game-opening run. After a right-side kill by Ainu‘u, the Raiders led 11-3.

Kapolei’s scrappy defense helped the Hurricanes pull within 14-10, but a service error by Scott and two cannonball spikes by Ainu‘u opened the Raiders’ lead back to seven points.

Lee finished the set with four kills and a block, while the balanced attack also featured four kills and one ace by Ainu‘u, and four kills from Kalama-Kingma.

In the second set, a rash of hitting errors by the Raiders helped the resilient Hurricanes stay close at 10-8. However, ‘Iolani went on a 10-5 run to extend the lead to 20-13.

Three more hitting errors by the Raiders helped Kapolei close the gap to 21-18. After a kill by Asa Parks on an overpass and a right-side kill by Scott, Kapolei was within 21-20.

The Raiders came through with a kill from Pieper, and after a hitting error by Ayedasyn Vaesau and an ace by Hope Cacal, Ainu‘u put the game away with her eighth kill.

Kapolei lost some intensity to start set three, committing two service errors and two hitting errors. After Nakanelua’s kill on an overpass, the Raiders led 9-3. The rest of the match was a runaway as ‘Iolani emptied some of its bench down the stretch.