King Kekaulike coach Leahi Hall called it luck. Kamehameha coach Kainoa Downing chalked it up to mental errors.

There is some truth to both explanations.

Visiting Na Alii was fortunate, or a bit lucky, if you will, to get past Kamehameha 25-23, 19-25, 27-26 in a tournament volleyball match Thursday night Kekuhaipio Gym. The host Warriors helped by erring in crunch time.

"We lost concentration at different times and they were critical times," Downing said. "I think we were in control of the match, but faded and weren’t able to close. At the end of the (match), we served out. That’s a mental error right there."

Both teams played twice on Thursday as part of the six-team Kamehameha Cup Boys Volleyball Invitational that continues through Saturday’s noon final. In matches that go three sets, the winner is the first to 27.

With the score knotted at 26-all in the third set, the Warriors’ David Kaaa served long to end it.

That final set was a battle of wills and the scoreboard showed it.

There were 14 ties. Na Alii got a dink kill from Colton Cowell for a 26-25 lead, but Kamehameha knotted it 26-26 on Kahiau Machado’s kill.

"Any time the final set is decided by one point, it’s just luck at that point," said Na Alii’s Hall, who was a two-time national women’s champion with Stanford in 2001 and ’04 and is in her first season with King Kekaulike of Maui. "Kamehameha did a good job adjusting to neutralize our middles and our offense. We had to work hard at opening gaps."

Cowell, a booming hitter and highly skilled overall player who is being recruited by Hawaii among other colleges, led the way for Na Alii with 12 kills.

With Izaiah Manrique doing the setting, Liana Chan-Hodges added eight kills and a block and Don Thompson chipped in with six kills.

"He’s amazing," Cowell said about Manrique, the setter, who plays football and paddles in his volleyball offseason. "He can do 250 pushups."

Kamoku Panee ran the Warriors’ offense and spread the ball around to Machado, Kobe Young and Naone Cannon, who all finished with seven kills.

King Kekaulike took a 13-7 lead in the first set, but the Warriors fought back to tie 23-all before a Thompson block and a Kamehameha miscue finished it.

In the second set, Na Alii led early, but the Warriors took control with efficient system play. They grabbed leads of between one and five points until George Kailiwai’s kill made it 24-18. Two points later, Cannon’s kill gave the set to the Warriors.

"We’re just not being consistent," Kamehameha’s Downing said. "We have the capability to play a lot better."

SCORES

King Kekaulike def. Westwood (Canada) 25-6, 25-20

King Kekaulike def. Kamehameha 25-21, 23-25, 27-26

Kamehameha def. Santa Barbara (Calif.) 25-17, 25-19

Moanalua def. Santa Barbara (Calif.) 25-16, 25-21

Kamehameha-Hawaii def. Westwood (Canada) 25-21, 25-20

Kamehameha-Hawaii def. Moanalua 25-16, 17-25, 25-22