The bull’s-eye on defending Division II state champion St. Francis was quite large.

The top-seeded Saints, overcoming a key early-season injury, found a way to repeat, overcoming second-seeded Kapaa 25-23, 21-25, 25-23, 25-12 on Saturday night in the D-II final of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Boys Volleyball State Championships at Blaisdell Arena.

“It’s so different from last year,” Saints coach Dandi Holder said, noting an preseason injury to a key returnee, Noah McKenzie. “Preparing the kids was more of a challenge, really. The kids, their heart, you can’t coach heart. They wanted it, they really, really wanted it, especially it being our last (match) ever as a school.”

Lucas Biondi led the way with 19 kills, 14 digs and three blocks, plus two aces, for St. Francis (15-0). Makua Marumoto added 16 kills and nine digs, while the maestro of the attack, Jesus Garcia, doled out 38 assists with three kills.

Middle Faaope Laloulu, a 6-foot-7 junior, had three kills and three key blocks in the first set.

“Throughout the season, as a team we’ve just focused on the next side out, trusted each other,” Garcia said. “Our middles got the ball a lot today, and our outsides got it when we needed them.”

Libero Walter Berthold tallied 10 kills and a team-high three aces as the Saints’ serve game took a toll on the talented Warriors in the fourth set.

Until that point, it was a superb battle that seemed destined for five sets.

“Kapaa is a very good team. They came out hungry and ready to play. They really, really wanted it,” Holder said.

Kiran Costa led Kapaa (16-4) with 17 kills, but the high-flying outside hitter also had three of his team’s eight hitting errors in the fourth set. That unusual torrent of miscues by the Warriors allowed St. Francis to open a 16-8 lead.

Middle Justin Faidley tallied seven kills and three blocks, and Alaka‘i Gonsalves tallied six kills. Setter Rusdan-Rocket Ahuna dished out 32 assists with seven digs, and Pomai Rabago-Kaiwi had a team-high 12 digs.

Kapaa won the first D-II state tourney in 2005.

“We have seven seniors who have given us great leadership,” Kapaa coach Kapule Kaona said. “We’ve had some of these boys since their freshman year. The relationships, we’ll miss more than anything. Kudos to the entire St. Francis team. Their best players played big, but their other players were big, too.”

Kapaa showed its prowess from the start, matching St. Francis’ power at the net. Despite just three combined kills from Biondi and Marumoto, St. Francis trailed by just three points, 13-10, at the first TV timeout. Consistent defense in the back row by libero Berthold, and a steady dose of Marumoto, Biondi and Laloulu at the net sparked a comeback.

Laloulu’s first block, on Costa, brought the Saints within 19-18, and Berthold followed with back-to-back aces to give them the lead.

Kapaa regained the lead, 19-18, on a roof by Faidley, but St. Francis closed the opening set with a 7-4 run. After Garcia won a joust at the net and Laloulu roofed Costa and Alii Brown, the Saints had a 24-22 lead en route to early victory.

Kapaa zoomed back with an authoritative second set. Costa found his groove with five kills and an ace as the Warriors opened a 17-11 lead and evened the match.

The third set was classic back-and-forth. The Saints opened a 14-8 lead, getting a surgically placed roll shot from Marumoto. Kapaa stormed back for a 21-20 lead, getting an ace from Faidley along the way.

The Saints answered with a 4-0 mini-run with Berthold at serve, getting a key back row kill from Biondi, who carved out a spot on the left side. Laloulu ended the set with a big kill from the middle.

But just when it seemed the match was dead even, the momentum had already been taken by the team in blue.

Kapaa spent the KIF season in sweep mode — only Kauai was able to push the Warriors past three sets. The Warriors then swept their first two opponents at states. By game four against St. Francis, they began to wilt after opening a 5-1 lead. The Saints went on a 9-0 run, fueled in part by a torrent of uncharacteristic hitting errors by the Warriors.

“At the beginning of that last set, we said what’s the volleyball that we want to play, in the last set as St. Francis Saints,” Biondi said. “We played to our potential and clicked.”

By the time Biondi had his first kill of the fourth set, the Saints had a 19-11 lead. Garcia went to Biondi without ceasing, and Biondi answered with three more kills as the Saints opened a 23-12 lead. After Biondi whacked a loose ball off a Kapaa kill attempt for a point, it was match point.

“We struggled with serve-receive and passing,” Kaona said. “It was our own errors, something we can control.”

Biondi ended the match with roof of Gonsalves, sealing St. Francis as a two-time state champion as the school closes its doors for good.

“I’ve only been here two years and played one at St. Francis, but it’s definitely cementing a legacy for our school,” Marumoto said. “I’m glad I can be part of something bigger than myself to help our school.”