New Zealand will meet arch rivals Australia in the Hawke's Bay Cup international women's hockey final on Sunday.
The Black Sticks downed South Korea 4-0 in Saturday's semi-finals, while world No.2 Australia had to work harder for their 3-2 win over fifth-ranked China.
New Zealand coach Mark Hager says his team are finding form at the right time.
"I think it's the best we have played since the London Olympics as a collective unit for the four quarters," he said.
"From Georgia Barnett in goal right through to the strikers, it was a good effort from all the girls."
The world No.4 Black Sticks had edged South Korea 2-1 earlier in pool play at the eight-nation tournament.
Olivia Merry, Gemma Flynn and Petrea Webster were the goal scorers, but it was an all-round effort with some great defence that kept Korea scoreless.
"It was good to see that our strikers were so clinical in front of goal and put their chances away. I think the energy was there tonight and that helped us up front," Hager said.
Australian captain Madonna Blyth celebrated her 300th game for her country with the hard-earned 3-2 win, but the victory didn't come without some anxious moments.
Blyth scored the opener in the 11th minute after Australia applied the pressure from a penalty corner, but China replied early in the second quarter through Mengyu Wang.
Australia's two second-half goals also came from penalty corners, the first to Jodie Kenny and the second to Georgie Parker.
They looked safe at 3-1 with just nine minutes remaining, but with five minutes to go, Qian Yu flicked the ball into the goal from a penalty corner to set up a tense final few minutes.
Australian coach Adam Commens was pleased with his team's performance.
"We played well for the majority of the match but there were some nervous moments near the end," he said.
"We've had some great battles against the Black Sticks in recent matches and I don't expect tomorrow to be any different."
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