Punahou coach Peter Balding wasn’t thrilled when he saw the Buffanblu’s state tournament draw.

Much of the first set against Moanalua probably didn’t help his nerves much either.

But he could finally breathe easy, at least for a little while, after top-seeded Punahou completed a sweep of Na Menehune in an HHSAA/New City Nissan Girls Volleyball State Championship quarterfinal match Thursday at McKinley.

Punahou (13-0) pulled out a tight first set, then rolled to a 25-21, 25-18, 25-19 win to advance to today’s semifinals against Kamehameha-Maui at 5 p.m. at McKinley.

"I watched Moanalua all season and knew what they were doing record-wise and, holy cow, to play them right out of the hole knowing they would get a game in before us, I was pretty nervous about this," Balding said.

Moanalua, which went 13-0 before losing its final two matches in the OIA Red tournament and which was ranked fifth in this week’s Star-Advertiser poll, defeated Hilo on Wednesday and pushed Punahou in the first set.

Na Menehune closed to 21-20 to prompt Balding to call a timeout. After a Moanalua hitting error, Punahou middle blocker Brittney Markwith put down a kill off an overpass, then teamed with Tai Manu-Olevao on a block to give Punahou set point. Taylor Dayton’s kill ended the set two serves later.

With the second set tied 10-10, Punahou went on an 8-2 run to take control.

The Buffanblu trailed 7-3 in the third set, but again responded with a 10-2 spurt, with junior outside hitter Carly Kan contributing two kills, a solo block and an ace in that stretch as setter Tayler Higgins spread the sets throughout the Punahou lineup.

Moanalua’s Erin Perez posted a match-high 12 kills.

Kamehameha-Maui 3, Kahuku 2

Sienna Davis had 17 kills and Anuhea Kaiaokamaile added 11 as the Warriors outlasted the Red Raiders 25-22, 17-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-8 in a quarterfinal match.

Kahuku’s Adora Anae had 14 kills, and Tatiana Brown and Sinamoni Tonga each added 13.