HPU Scoresheet | TCU Scoresheet

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine beach volleyball team made a sound showing in its home-opening event at Queen's Beach on Saturday, coming away with an all-around dual-match sweep of both Hawai'i Pacific and Texas Christian (TCU) to claim the Queen's Cup.

In their first on-island matches of the 2016 season, UH defeated both HPU and TCU in 5-0 sweeps in both rounds of the Queen's Cup, which also featured local foe, Chaminade.

The Rainbow Wahine drew further inspiration from the presence of recently-injured teammate, Heather Boyan, who spent time around the squad in the team tent throughout the day.

The 'SandBows' won 20-of-21 sets and 10 straight matches en route to the dominant victory on their home sands.

 

Leading the way were senior captain Katie Spieler and redshirt freshman Emily Maglio at the No. 1 slot. Maglio's dominant net presence and Spieler's sterling defense was a stellar performance for beachside onlookers. The pair has now won four consecutive straight-set matches and are quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with on the national stage.

For the first time together this year is the No. 2 pair of local junior second-team indoor All-American Nikki Taylor and german-born Lara Schreiber, who followed suit in the victory column. Taylor's powerful presence at the net and Schreiber's sets propelled the team to two consecutive two-set victories and a promising start to their new partnership.

Sophomore Ka'iwi Schucht, junior Mikayla Tucker, junior Hannah Rooks, senior Ginger Long and freshman standout Ari Homayun all went 2-0 on the day in varied pairs as the SandBows looked sharp across the board at the beach today.

Other notable performances were turned in from senior Tai Manu Olevao, who scored her first point of the season in the No. 5 match versus TCU and local-product redshirt freshman Clare-Marie Anderson, who scored the first point of her beach career early in the day against HPU.

The SandBows are readying for a big week hosting a rematch with the defending beach, and current No. 2-ranked Southern Cal and reigning indoor national champion Nebraksa.

UH hosts televised home matches under the lights at the Clarence T.C. Ching Courts on Tuesday versus USC (March 15) and Sunday versus Nebraska (March 20).

Those events will sandwich two days of exciting competition back at Queen's Beach during the Hawai'i Invitational this upcoming Friday and Saturday, March 18-19, featuring a field of USC, Nebraska and Loyola Marymount.

Final: Hawaii 5, HPU 0
1. 21-9, 21-7 (Emily Maglio/Katie Spieler) def. Elizabeth Culpepper/Pomai Recca (HPU)
2. 21-9, 21-14 (Nikki Taylor/Lara Schreiber) def. Amanda Moriarty/Carson Pyle (HPU)
3. 21-9, 21-13 (Mikayla Tucker/Ka'iwi Schucht) def. Kayla Kilaulani/Mali Sawyer (HPU)
4. 21-8, 21-7 (Hannah Rooks/Ari Homayun) def. Mahea Pescaia/Kayla Demari (HPU
5. 21-10, 21-10 (Ginger Long/Clare-Marie Anderson) def. Kennedy Poligratis/Jacqueline Wolfe (HPU)

Final: Hawaii 5, TCU 0
1. 21-11, 21-13 (Emily Maglio/Katie Spieler) def. Michelle McNamee/Sarita Mikals (TCU)
2. 22-20, 21-8 (Nikki Taylor/Lara Schreiber) def. Shane Peters/Olivia Canales (TCU)
3. 21-9, 21-12 (Hannah Rooks/Ka'iwi Schucht) def. Jaelyn Greene/Jillian Bergeson (TCU)
4. 21-14, 21-14 (Mikayla Tucker/Ginger Long) def. Molly Scheel/Ariah Palter (TCU)
5. 19-21, 21-18, 15-10 (Tai Manu-Olevao/Ari Homayun) def. Clare Ford/Blaire Pickens (TCU)