​The species is ‘Iolani girls volleyball and it is evolving in real time.The top-ranked Raiders got 13 kills and three aces from Georgie Lee to sweep No. 5 Punahou 25-10, 25-15, 25-17 on Saturday at Hemmeter Fieldhouse. Junior setter Taimane Ainu‘u tallied 33 assists, three aces and three kills while spearheading ‘Iolani’s balanced attack.The Raiders improved to 5-0 in ILH play (18-2 overall). Poema Kalama-Kingma had 10 kills and one ace, Elle Arceneaux had eight kills and one block, and middle Annaura Reid-Gillet had seven kills and two blocks. When Punahou brought wave after wave of long rallies, the rare occasion when ‘Iolani was slightly out of system were just opportunities for libero Mary Kate Kawakami.The junior had a team-high 10 digs and provided four smooth assists and two aces to help the Raiders sustain momentum against the scrappy Buffanblu.“For a long stretch that we didn’t have games (mid-August to Sept. 10), we were in the gym still grinding it out and finding out who we are,” Kawakami said. “We came into the season with a goal of winning states, and every day, we’re just stacking the reps, stacking the days. Now we get to these stretches where we have so many matches.”Kawakami is a converted outside hitter. She and ‘Iolani’s relentless back-row defenders had six matches in a 26-hour period at the Durango Fall Classic. They came home and had three ILH matches this week.“I love it. It challenges me every day, but really that’s where a lot of growth is happening for me. Every day in the gym, I want to be a dog,” Kawakami said. “My body’s pretty good. I just pray about staying healthy.”Her sister and teammate, Lexi, is one of ‘Iolani’s setters.“Her hands are super buttery and she always helps me at home with my sets. She’s my best cheerleader,” Kawakami said.Leila Tevaga led Punahou (9-10, 1-5) with seven kills and middle Kaya Young had six kills. Emelia Thompson and Carmen Lo chipped in four kills apiece, while sophomore setter Taj Davidson dished 11 assists. The Buffanblu continue to develop and improve significantly. So does a nationally ranked squad like ‘Iolani.“We’re getting better. We have definitely not peaked. We’re able to hang with them, and they pull away. That’s what good teams do. The fact that we can hang, we know the potential is there,” Punahou coach Brandon Kikuchi said. “We need to be consistent and sustain that. We have some rallies. We weren’t doing that earlier in the year. We’re setting better and playing together more.”‘Iolani will host Punahou in a rematch on Tuesday. Then the Raiders visit Kamehameha on Thursday and Mid-Pacific on Saturday.