After dropping the opening set on Thursday, King Kekaulike managed to settle down while Chandler Cowell heated up.

The adjustments powered third-seeded Na Alii to a 20-25, 25-12, 25-13, 25-23 win over Kalaheo in the Division I quarterfinals of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Volleyball Championships at Moanalua.

Cowell, a junior outside hitter, posted four kills in the first set as Kalaheo pulled away late to take the lead in the match. In the break prior to the second set, King Kekaulike coach Al Paschoal reminded Na Alii to sharpen up the little things.

Sending sets Cowell’s way with greater frequency didn’t hurt either.

“We slowed down and they were much more consistent, passed better and let our offense run … and Chandler went off,” Paschoal said.

“We didn’t set her enough in the first set for sure. She’s a girl that’s gotta get the ball a lot.”

Cowell hammered seven kills in both the second and third sets and Na Alii ran out to big leads. She added six more in a far tighter fourth set and the MIL champions held off the Mustangs’ rally to advance to today’s 5 p.m. semifinal at McKinley against Kamehameha.

“That’s been a goal the last couple of years. We’ve been in this match before and haven’t been able to pull it out,” Paschoal said, referencing quarterfinal losses to Kapolei in 2014 and Kamehameha last year.

Cowell, whose older brother, Colton, is a sophomore on the University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team, hit .388 with 24 kills in 49 swings and Na Alii hit .297 as a team in the win.

“When you’re getting prime sets from Kalena (Vaivai) … all I have to do is hit it,” Cowell said. “And then I have a libero telling me where to hit, seam or angle, so really I just depended on my team for that.”

Vaivai led Na Alii with 24 assists and middle Kanilea Nomura added 12 kills on 16 attempts while hitting .688. Kiana Vandaele had four of King Kekaulike’s nine service aces.

While King Kekaulike controlled the second and third sets while hitting .527 as a team, Paschoal was wary of Kalaheo’s comeback potential after the Mustangs, the OIA’s sixth seed, pulled out a five-set victory over Mililani in the opening round on Monday.

“You can’t let them get hot,” Paschoal said. “They’ve got a couple of really good players on their team. Once they were both on, they’re tough to stop.”

Kalaheo outside hitter Syenna Masaki posted six of her 10 kills in the fourth set and middle Samantha Pollard put down four and the Mustangs erased a four-point deficit to catch Na Alii at 21-21.

With the set tied again at 23, Vaivai and Rose Love teamed on a block and Mekaila Makahanaloa’s kill attempt landed just inside the back line to end the match.

Pollard finished with nine kills while hitting .421, and Kalaheo will play in a fifth-place bracket match at 7 p.m. today at Moanalua.

“We’re here, we’re still making history,” Kalaheo coach Roberta Downey said. “Kalaheo has never done this in D-I, so we gotta come back and regroup.”