Kahuku’s timing was perfect, and Mililani’s quest for perfection came to a halt.

The Red Raiders had just six hitting errors and dominated in every way to stun previously unbeaten Mililani 25-23, 25-17, 25-13 Thursday night in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red playoffs at McKinley Student Council Gym.

Kahuku gave Mililani its first loss in the double-elimination tournament, which means the teams will face each other for the championship Saturday at McKinley.

“I feel good. We’ve been trying to push them in practice to get used to the 3-out-of-5 (format),” Kahuku coach Kaniela Kalama said. “Also, we’ve been working a lot on our blocking to get ready for the playoffs and state tournament.”

A sweep was not in the cards, at least not in the minds of fans who came to see the state’s No. 4 team, Mililani, against No. 5. Kahuku.

“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised,” Kalama said. “I know my girls can do it when they’re focused and they’re on. Each of them has a job. When they do it right, they can do really good. You have to do your job against Mililani. They’re a smart team.”

Kahuku’s third match in as many nights could’ve been a test of endurance. Instead, the Red Raiders were crisp, powerful and … bouncy. Setter Talia Brown was the recipient of near-perfect passes most of the night and delivered 27 assists to her arsenal of weapons.

Sophomore Adora Anae pounded nine kills, mostly from the left side, and sophomore Sinamoni Tonga walloped nine kills mostly from the right. Pati Anae, a 6-foot sophomore, was a mix of finesse and guile at the middle, finishing with seven kills and four blocks. Tyra Williams, a 5-9 senior, had two of her team’s three aces, and Tatiana Brown chipped in with four kills for Kahuku (15-3).

“Now we’re going to focus on Saturday,” Brown said. “We’ll bring that energy again. We were ready after we got a taste of a loss (last week). We wanted to fight harder.”

Mililani (15-1) seemed to have a rhythm in the opening set and led 22-20 after a kill by Kaila Kikugawa. However, two hitting errors against Kahuku’s tall block hurt the Trojans, and Pati Anae’s step-out kill gave Kahuku an early lead in the match.

“Not to take anything away from Kahuku. They played good. But we really needed to push through that first set,” Mililani coach Val Crabbe said.

From there, Kahuku was on fire from the left, the right, the back row — and the Trojans often didn’t resist. They were within 15-14 midway through the second game after a kill by Jordyn Keamo (11 kills), but Kahuku scored the next five points, thanks to three unforced Mililani errors.

Kahuku closed out the second set with a 5-1 run.

With Mililani hitting a negative percentage in the second and third sets, Kahuku got plenty of clean swings. Down 7-6 in the third set, the Red Raiders went on a 13-4 run to take complete control. Kahuku finished with a .291 hitting percentage.

Mililani, which got 17 assists from Casie Gaza and four kills from Inoa Fields, hit .000. That included 21 hitting errors.

“We’ll regroup,” Crabbe said.

At least 100 Kahuku fans voyaged from the North Shore to give their team a home-crowd feel from start to finish.

“Our fans are great. To drive an hour here, an hour back home, and they’ve been doing it all week,” Kalama said.