The big Mac attack came at the right time for No. 2 Punahou.

McKenna Granato had seven of her 11 kills in the third set as the Buffanblu staved off No. 4 ‘Iolani 27-25, 20-25, 25-22 on Tuesday night at the Raiders’ gym.

Punahou finished the first round of ILH play 8-2. Kiani Tuileta was clutch in the final set, with three of her four aces during a huge rally that turned a 15-9 deficit into a 21-16 lead for the visiting Buffanblu.

Punahou’s biggest edge came at the net, with a 10-5 advantage in blocks. Kiana Peroff finished with six kills and four blocks, including three in the final set.

Anna Uhr led the Raiders (6-4) with a match-high 17 kills.

The next round will be a single round robin with a best-of–five-sets format. Kamehameha secured a state-tournament berth by winning the first round. The winner of the second round will grab the other state berth. If the Warriors win the second round as well, ‘Iolani would need to finish second to set up a playoff with first-round runner-up Punahou for that second ILHberth in states.

If all that seems somewhat confusing, it’s nothing compared to what Granato went through. She struggled with just four kills through the first two games against ‘Iolani.

"This week, I’d been having a hard time. I figured it out after the second set. I was broad jumping and I’m not supposed to do it. (Assistant) coach Fiona (Fonoti) asked me if I can see the block, and I noticed I wasn’t seeing the blocking," Granato said.

Buffanblu head coach Tanya Fuamatu-Anderson made just enough adjustments to help Punahou rally big in the third set. ‘Iolani had a 15-9 lead, and right about then Fuamatu-Anderson switched from a 5-1 to a 6-2 offense.

"McKenna came alive in that third. ‘Iolani had that set. We made a slight change to take the pressure off Kiana and get in a different look," she said.

Tuileta was superb with 31 assists, but it was that knuckleball style serve that stymied the Raiders.

"Her serve floats and moves, and it drops at the end," ‘Iolani coach Kainoa Obrey said. "I’m proud of our team, though. We didn’t just let them run out on us."

Bailey Choy (35 assists, six kills) got a kill from the right side, and another on a dump shot. She added another right-side kill and after Sierra Buscher came up with a big roof, the set was tied at 22.

Punahou then put the match away with three points in a row: a kill by Peroff, a Raiders hitting error and a roof by Peroff on Buscher.

It was a seesaw battle all night, and the boisterous crowd of about 200 at ‘Iolani was a big part of it. Punahou swept ‘Iolani three weeks ago at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

"’Iolani is so darned competitive. They’re fearless every night," Fuamatu-Anderson said.

Hana Lishman had seven kills, Va’e Malufau had four kills and two aces, and Lillie Klemmer chipped in three kills for the Buffanblu. Punahou tallied six aces and just four service errors.

Emily Sunada had six kills and two blocks for the Raiders. Tatiana Calimpong-Burke added five kills and a block. Freshmen Saige Ka’ahaina-Torres and Buscher added five kills apiece.

"Our middles played well," Obrey said.