Adrianna Arquette had 17 kills, 18 digs, three blocks and three assists as top-seeded Kamehameha fought off Punahou 25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22 to capture the Division I crown at the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championships on Friday night.

A raucous crowd filled Cannon Activities Center as the two rivals battled on the springy wooden floor.

“We didn’t expect anything less from Punahou. They’re very well coached. They’ve got a lot of great players over there. We knew we’d be in for a battle. I’m proud of our girls, how resilient we are, but Punahou put us into bad spots and I’m proud of how our kids stood up,” Kamehameha coach Chris Blake said.

Kalaweloilehua Chock tallied 16 kills, five digs and two assists, while Kama Goldstein tallied nine kills and four digs. Emma Lilo dished 43 assists and hustled for 10 digs. Kaleinani Watson had 17 digs and Ashli Lum added 16 digs.

The state title is No. 24 for Kamehameha (30-4), with 12 under Blake. Kamehameha missed the state tournament last year, their first non-qualifying campaign in 20 seasons. The top two teams in the Star-Advertiser Top 10 met five times prior to the state tourney. Punahou won the first match, but Kamehameha won the next four. Both teams were at peak level for Friday’s clash.

Lulu Uluave led Punahou (29-5) with 18 kills in 63 swings, adding a team-high 17 digs. Indigo Clarke had nine kills, including five in the frenetic fourth-set comeback by the Buffanblu. Middle Evelyn Kilisi also had nine kills, while Kealohalani Cox chipped in seven. Rella Binney dished 42 assists and had 12 digs.

Reese Teves tallied 16 digs.

Punahou never relented, rallying from a 17-11 deficit for a 19-18 lead in Game 4.

“We kept fighting. Came up short, but the girls played well. We caught up and the girls showed a lot of heart,” Punahou coach Tita Ahuna said. “I’ll miss their leadership. Our seniors showed great leadership throughout the season. I’m proud of them.”

Blake and his staff had its share of tough times.

“As far as the things that are happening on Maui. We lost a number of important people to our program. Merv Kitashima, who passed away. Dan Kitashima’s wife. Uncle Bobby Robins, who passed away this week as well,” Blake said. “We understand that we play for all these people. I couldn’t be any more proud of our girls doing all those things, all of the challenges, to make this happen.”

Down 13-9 in the opening set, Punahou got within 14-13.

Moments later, Kilisi delivered back-to-back kills to tie the game, then give the Buffanblu a 16-15 lead.

After an ace by Kahealani Moriwaki, they led 17-15.

The Warriors tied it at 17, then 18 before Tia Kapihe roofed Cox to give the Warriors a 19-18 lead.

Kamehameha edged the lead up to 20-18, but Punahou rallied and tied it at 20 on a kill by Uluave.

A kill by Chock and a roll shot by Arquette opened Kamehameha’s lead to 22-20.

Chock and Kapihe drilled kills for a 24-21 gap. With Uluave in the back row, Punahou cut it to 24-23, but Kamehameha hung on. After a timeout, Lilo fed a back set to Arquette, who sent down a bazooka shot from the right side to give Kamehameha a 1-0 edge in the match.

Arquette, who signed with Hawaii and will be a setter in college, was a bane on the Buffanblu at the net with persistent rejections in Game 2. That didn’t stop Punahou, which stormed ahead 16-12. A Kamehameha timeout couldn’t cool Punahou down.

An Uluave kill extended the lead to 17-12.

Kamehameha got no closer than three points as Punahou evened the match at 1.

The Buffanblu charged ahead 10-7 in Set 3. Kamehameha came right back, taking a 12-11 lead on a roof by Kapihe.

Uluave stepped up with a kill, then an ace to give her team a 15-14 edge.

Punahou eked out a two-point lead, but Kamehameha tied it at 18.

Again, Binney went to Kilisi in the middle for the lead, but the Warriors scored the next two points. Chock’s tip over two blockers shifted the lead to Kamehameha, 20-19.

A double-contact violation by Cox allowed Kamehameha to open a 22-20 lead. A huge dig by Lum on a laser shot by Uluave led to a kill by Cox for a 23-20 lead.

Punahou scored the next two points before Lilo fed Kapihe for a kill, then Arquette from the right side to end Game 3.

Game 4 started with five hitting errors by Punahou that allowed Kamehameha to take an 8-6 lead.

Punahou trailed 10-7, then tied it at 10. Kamehameha went on a 7-1 run, benefiting from Punahou errors. With Arquette drawing a double block, Goldstein unleashed a kill. After Arquette pounded a kill on an overpass, Kamehameha had its biggest lead, 17-11.

After a Punahou timeout, Arquette roofed Clarke for a seven-point margin. Two plays later, Haumea Marumoto roofed Arquette, and after Kapihe’s hitting error and a kill by Clarke on an overpass, the Buffanblu were within 18-15.

One timeout later, Arquette was wide left and Punahou was within two. Clarke’s fifth kill of the fourth set brought the Buffanblu within 18-17.

Punahou continued to battle back.

Kilisi then tied the game with a laser from the middle.

A hitting error by Arquette, her third of the fourth set, gave the lead to Punahou, 19-18.

Kamehameha tied it, and Arquette tapped down a set to Uluave that wound up on top of the net. After a Punahou hitting error, the Warriors were up 21-19.

Punahou then had a net violation, and Uluave had a hitting error while falling further behind, 23-20.

Teves’ ace brought the Buffanblu within 23-22. Then came the longest rally of the night, culminating in a kill by Goldstein.

Goldstein provided the final kill a moment later, capping Kamehameha’s return to the throne.

Kamehameha’s first five titles were under Kuuipo Lum in 1969, ’70, ’77, ’82 and ’83.

Next was a run under Dan Kitashima with state championships in ’91, ’92, ’94, ’95, ’97, ’98 and ’99,

Then came Blake with state titles in ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’13, ’15, ’17, ’19 and ’21.

Punahou has nine state titles. The first was under coach Mary Perry in 1973. Peter Balding guided the Buffanblu to a title in ’93, followed by Diana McKibbin’s title teams in ’06 and ’00. Scott Rigg led Punahou to the crown in ’03, followed by Randy Nako in ’04. Balding returned to lead Punahou to titles in ’11 and ’12.

Tanya Fuamatu-Anderson then took Punahou to a championship in ’14.

Kamehameha-Hawaii 2, Baldwin 0

Maela Honma crushed 17 kills, Maile Kuamo‘o dished 23 assists and Shay Beals tallied 13 digs to lead the Warriors (29-6) in a 25-21, 25-15 win for third place in D-I

Kuulei Manaois had eight kills and Ariana Naipo added six kills for the Bears (17-9). Lilinoe Paschoal had 18 assists, while Natronai Anana hustled for 11 digs.

Mililani 2, Moanalua 0

Erica Roberts and Kadence Wilson had seven kills each to lead the Lady Trojans (18-5) over Na Menehune 25-20, 25-21 in the Division I fifth-place game.

Anue Asuncion added 19 assists, while Alaina Valdez had a team-high nine digs in a rematch of the OIA title showdown, also won by Mililani.

Malu Garcia led Moanalua (30-10) with nine kills. Haylee DePontes had 11 assists and Natalie Fukumoto had seven digs.