Kamehameha discussed the pitfalls of a slow start.

The Warriors also knew how to rectify their lag. A quick finish helped host and third-ranked Kamehameha beat Maryknoll 25-22, 19-25, 25-13 in an ILH boys volleyball match on Tuesday night.

“First-game jitters — we always talked about it, it’s the first game, it’s going to happen,” said Kamehameha outside hitter Nainoa Barlan, who finished with 11 kills. “The good thing was we talked about it, we knew it was going to happen and it happened. Even though we lost the second set, the third set was how we were supposed to play.”

Barlan had two aces and served the Warriors to a 5-0 lead in Set 3. Kamehameha’s tough serving and minimization of errors diminished Maryknoll’s momentum from Set 2. Naone Cannon had eight of his 15 kills in the final set to lead the Warriors (1-0).

“A big thing about it is serving,” Barlan said. “If you can serve (tough), it’s going to help a lot.”

Kamehameha coach Randy Nako felt his team didn’t take care of the ball in the first two sets. Maryknoll (0-1) took advantage of Kamehameha’s errors to take control of Set 2. Maryknoll’s Chad Bolte had seven of his 11 kills in Set 2.

“They’re a good solid team,” Nako said. “When we give four, five points away on our unforced errors, it makes it difficult against a good team.”

The Spartans had all the momentum heading into the final set. But Maryknoll fell behind early and couldn’t recover. Aiden Velasco had nine kills in the loss.

“We have to work on fighting back and staying strong all the way through,” said Maryknoll coach David Bayne.

Kamehameha lost in the state quarterfinals last year. The goal this season is to claim the state title and the Warriors get an early test at Punahou, which has won the past four state titles, on Saturday.

“Our goal is to win that state championship,” Barlan said. “We’re trying hard. It may not look like it now because it’s the beginning of the season, but our main goal is to get that championship in the end.”