There have been opening-round games that were simply blowouts.

This was not one of them. Punahou regrouped against hungry, heavy-hitting Kahuku for a 25-19, 25-19, 19-25, 25-21 win on Monday night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse in the Division I opening round of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships.

Kaia Dunford led the Buffanblu with 21 kills and three of her team’s six aces. Madisyn Beirne added 11 kills and southpaw Halo-Elizabeth Yoshiki squared away for eight kills, mostly from the right side. Yoshiki added one ace and one block. Punahou had not played in 10 days since losing in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu final against Kamehameha.

“It’s rough,” Punahou coach Tanya Fuamatu-Anderson said. “We had to get creative and keep the kids motivated, but it was kind of good because it allowed us to slow things down, really get back down to basics and focus on executing.”

Punahou (11-2) will meet BIIF champion Kamehameha-Hawaii in the quarterfinal round on Thursday at McKinley Student Council Gymnasium.

“I feel like our team worked super hard this past week to get to this point. I’m really happy the way we executed,” said Dunford, a 5-foot-11 senior. “We definitely got ready for Savannah (Taosoga). We got caught a couple of times, but we adjusted.”

Taosoga crushed 19 kills to pace Kahuku. Tylor Iosua added nine kills and Emmalei Mapu tallied seven with a block. Setter Keau Kamakeeaina dished 51 assists along with two blocks.

“I’m proud of our girls and the way they stuck together. I told them they had a great season and to keep their heads up. Punahou just played a good game,” Kahuku coach Tuli Tevaga said.

A key difference in the fourth set was service execution. Kahuku had five service errors in the fourth while Punahou had none.

Kahuku (11-4), the OIA’s fourth-place team, saw the first two sets follow a similar pattern. The opening set was tied at nine when the home team went on a 9-1 run. Setter Chloe Kaahanui (45 assists) and Beirne had aces during the run, and Grace Fiaseu had a big block.

Down 18-10, the Lady Raiders got an ace from Iosua and a block by Mapu to pull within two points, but Dunford added two more kills — one on a roll shot and the other from the back row — as the Buffanblu took the first set.

The second game was tied at 13 when Punahou went on a 7-1 run. Dunford delivered two aces and another back-row kill to open the lead to 20-14. Kahuku got no closer than three points.

Backed by an energetic group of fans clad in red shirts, Kahuku jumped to a 4-0 lead in the third set and opened it to 15-8. Taosoga had five kills and Iosua chipped in four as the Lady Raiders seized momentum. The vibe was much like the OIA semifinal last week, when Kahuku trailed Mililani, and made a big turnaround.

This time, the Lady Raiders led 10-9 in the fourth game when Punahou regained the lead. It was tied at 16 after kills by Iosua and Mapu, and a hitting error by the Buffanblu. Punahou then opened a two-point lead on a service error and hitting error by the visitors, who never led again.

Kahuku committed five service errors in the fourth game, and the Buffanblu got the final point on a kill by Isabelle Iosua on a step-out play.

Now No. 3-ranked Punahou has a mystery opponent in Kamehameha-Hawaii.

“We’ll find out about them. The reality is, no matter what, we’ve got to take care of business on our side. We know they’re going to be tough. They’re in the state tournament for a reason,” Fuamatu-Anderson said.

Other state D-I matches

Kapolei 3, Waiakea 0

Kawehi Marinas led all attackers with 16 kills and Alizaysha Sopi added 15 as the Hurricanes swept the host Warriors 25-15, 25-18, 25-13 on the Big Island.

As a team, Kapolei (12-2) outhit Waiakea (14-4) .323 to -.012. Marinas recorded a double-double with her 10 digs, while teammate Ayanna Nunuha picked up a match-high 11 digs. Waiakea was led by Kailey Doll’s seven kills.

Kapolei advanced to Thursday’s 7 p.m. quarterfinal at Moanalua, where it takes on ILH champion and No. 1 overall seed Kamehameha.

Le Jardin 3, Kamehameha-Maui 1

Playing in their first-ever D-I state-tournament match, the Bulldogs (8-5) moved to the quarterfinal round with a 25-21, 20-25, 25-19, 25-14 opening-round victory over the Warriors (11-4) on Maui.

Alishya Roman led Le Jardin with 15 kills and Ellie Diersbock chipped in 14. Libero Teia Piette had a team-high 17 digs for the Bulldogs, who face OIA champion and No. 2 overall seed Mililani in Thursday’s 7 p.m. match at McKinley.

Kamehameha-Maui was led by Jhene Saribay’s 17-kill, 18-dig performance.

Moanalua 3, Waianae 2

Tayli Ikenaga led all attackers with 22 kills and Alexis DeBina-Bautista added 20 as the host Na Menehune (14-1) outlasted Waianae (11-4) 25-20, 24-26, 25-19, 23-25, 15-13 to advance into Thursday’s quarterfinal round.

Na Menehune hosts No. 4 seed and Maui Interscholastic League champion King Kekaulike at 5 p.m.

In the loss, Jahnay Jardine paced the Seariders with 17 kills, and libero Chevy Wagner-Chun had a match-high 37 digs.