Methodical, precise and relentless, they are.

The top-ranked Punahou Buffanblu showed all the traits of a champion in waiting in a 25-16, 25-16 sweep of No. 5 ‘Iolani on Tuesday night before a crowd of about 1,000 at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

Punahou’s balance was a key ingredient. Setter Tayler Higgins, who dished out 26 assists, didn’t have to rely on rocket launcher Tai Manu-Olevao (six kills). Higgins went to Carly Kan in the first set, and Kan had seven of her eight kills.

Higgins also went to Remo Gaogao, who pounded nine of her 10 kills in the second game.

"I’m having so much fun," said Higgins, a 5-foot-9 junior who saw playing time as an outside hitter last year. "Playing with this group of girls, we have so much fun at practice, games, we pretty much do everything together. But we’re nowhere near where we need to be. That’s why we practice hard every day."

In all, Punahou (2-0) had just four hitting errors and hit .409 against one of the title contenders in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

The Buffanblu serve kept the visitors off balance often. Though Punahou finished with just three aces (Marissa Behrens, Kan and Higgins), the Buffanblu committed only three service errors, preventing the Raiders from getting a consistent passing game going.

Sara Watanabe led ‘Iolani (1-1) with five kills, and middle Haley Robinson added four. Loxley Keala had 11 assists and three kills. Coach Jenic Tumaneng’s young Raiders, including just three seniors, hit .161 and finished with one ace, though they were in both sets with the home team early on.

"They came to play tonight and unfortunately we didn’t," Keala said. "I definitely think we can improve a lot. We can get a lot better. Our passing wasn’t as well, our connection wasn’t well tonight. We can get that with more practice and more preparation. Mentally, we weren’t there. We need to do those mental reps so when we get to the court, we’re ready."

Punahou’s wealth of experience, plus talent, has been showcased so far. Coach Peter Balding has been happy with the team’s attention to detail.

"We passed serve-receive pretty well. The thing I was really impressed with was our blocking. We didn’t score many points off our block, but we touched a lot of balls and we were able to pass to the target. I like that," he said.

The opening set was tied at 6-all before Punahou went on an 8-1 run, thanks to three kills, an ace and a block by Kan.

The Raiders were within 8-6 in the second game before Punahou got a kill from Higgins and another from the back row by Gaogao. After Gaogao hammered two more kills and Behrens sliced an ace inside the left corner, the Buffanblu had a 17-10 lead and ‘Iolani got no closer than five points.

Balding was also pleased with a rare opportunity to get all 15 players into the match, but the work is far from over. Punahou will play No. 8 Mid-Pacific on Friday.

"Anybody in our division can beat anybody. Last year, Mid-Pacific handled us. I’m not just saying that because that’s what coaches say. It’s legit," he said. "I’ll just remind them, but I don’t think I have to say a whole lot."