After an atrocious showing in Set 1, the Molokai girls volleyball team had a message for each other.

"It was just the jitters," said Molokai outside hitter Kalei Vaivai. "We talked after that set and we said we can’t play like that. This is the state tournament. We can’t come out like that."

Second-seeded Molokai made some defensive adjustments after the opening set and bounced back to defeat Hawaii Baptist 14-25, 25-18, 26-24, 25-16 in last night’s semifinals of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Division II Girls Volleyball State Championships at Kalani High School.

Molokai (11-0) advances to play top-seeded University High (16-3) in tonight’s 6 p.m. championship at McKinley. The Junior Rainbows swept Leilehua 25-7, 25-15, 25-7 last night in a semifinal match at McKinley.

"We all stepped up. We all communicated. It was really balanced," said Vaivai, who had 13 kills.

Kalei Adolpho had 16 kills and Kailana Ritte-Camara added 11 for the Farmers, who are the first Maui Interscholastic League team to reach the Division II state final since Seabury Hall in 2007.

CJ Asuncion had 13 kills, Tiffany Thompson had 10 kills and Krystal Oyasato added nine for the Eagles (13-8), who had won the last three state championships.

"(Coach) Myles (Shioji) always tells us to stay mentally tough," Asuncion said. "We tried to push through and tried our best."

Molokai struggled in Set 1, unable to pass the ball and dig up balls sent over by the Eagles at all angles. Molokai called its first timeout at 9-5 and the deficit grew the rest of the way. The Farmers couldn’t get the ball to Adolpho, their 6-foot star hitter who will play volleyball and basketball next year at the University of Hawaii.

Then came the talk and the adjustments.

"Defensively, we just had to adjust to their deep hitting and we weren’t quite sure how they were going to come out, but we knew defensively they were tough," Molokai coach Matt Helm said. "We just said stay aggressive and adjust on our defense. We shifted up a lot more and into their angles and shifted our middle backs back to play their deep shots."

Molokai quickly found Adolpho on the outside in Set 2 and her fifth kill of the set put the Farmers ahead 11-9. The Farmers held the lead the rest of the set and two kills by Adolpho and three HBA errors ended Set 2.

The Eagles rallied from a five-point deficit to lead 22-20 and served for the third set at 24-23. But Adolpho buried a kill on an overpass to tie the set at 24 and Vaivai’s kill put Molokai at set point. Adolpho and Leenell Hernandez’s double block gave their team the third set.

Hawaii Baptist called a timeout down 12-6 in Set 4, then rallied, cutting the deficit to 15-12 after Kanoelani Yadao’s kill on an overpass. Two kills from Vaivai, a kill by Natalia Levi and Adolpho’s service ace extended Molokai’s lead to 19-13, helping the Farmers pull away for the win.

Helm expects a tougher challenge tonight from the Junior Rainbows, who last won a state title in 1990 when there was only one state championship.

"University is going to be tough," Helm said. "They’ll have a lot more of an offensive attack than HBA. We’re going to have to be ready defensively. We’re going to have to serve tough and throw them off of their offense."

UNIVERSITY 3, LEILEHUA 0

Michelle Fainberg had 10 kills and 10 digs and Kainoa Ocasek added 10 kills to lead the Junior Rainbows to a 25-7, 25-15, 25-7 win over the Mules in a semifinal match at McKinley.