Match Highlights (courtesy of OC Sports)

HONOLULU – The No. 5 University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine beach volleyball team faced off with No. 3 and defending National Champion Southern Cal on Tuesday at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex sand courts. Despite battling hard for the first several rounds, the Rainbow Wahine were downed by USC for the second time, 4-1.

Earning the lone victory for the 'SandBows' was the duo of junior Hannah Rooks and Ka'iwi Schucht, who won in straight sets, 21-15, 21-19, in the No. 4 position. The pair is 2-0 versus USC after winning when the teams met in Malibu earlier this season.

The day's opening match went straight sets in favor of USC at No. 5 as Freshman Ari Homayun and Senior Tai Manu-Olevao came up short in a comeback and ultimately fell, 21-16, 21-19 to the Trojans' No. 5 pair of Zoe Nightengale and Jo Cramer.

With the match tied at 1-1 and very much alive after the Rooks and Shucht victory over Jenna Belton and Katrina Kernochan, all eyes turned to center court where No. 3 pair Mikayla Tucker and Ginger Long took the first set and led late into the second set before finally succumbing to a noble comeback by USC's experienced pair of Nicolette Martin and Ali Wheeler, who eventually prevailed in a tight third set to give USC a 2-1 edge in the match.

All-American Nikki Taylor came out firing with partner Lara Schreiber. Although the pair was strong early, they did could not maintain the consistency needed to win the match and tie the dual at two-all. They fell in straight sets, 21-16, 21-10, giving USC the match victory with the 3-1 edge in the dual.

Closing out the evening, No. 1 pair Katie Spieler and Emily Maglio took over center court. The two-time defending Big West Pair of the Week fell to defending pairs National Champion team of Sarah Hughes and Kelly Claes, who proved too much for UH's top tandem. The 21-15, 21-9 USC win ended the dual in favor of USC with a final score of 4-1, the same result from the schools match earlier meeting at the Pepperdine Kickoff Tournament.

The Rainbow Wahine may get one additional meeting with the Trojans this week, as both teams will compete in the field of the Hawai'i Invitational, along with defending indoor national champion Nebraska and Loyola Marymount.

Friday's tournament format will consist of an all-day pairs setup, while Saturday will be a duals event where UH looks to take another shot at USC in the event's team final.

No. 3 USC 4, No. 5 Hawai'i 1 
Clarence T.C. Ching Complex
Tuesday, March 15, 2016 
1. Kelly Claes/Sara Hughes (USC) def. Emily Maglio/Katie Spieler (UH); 21-15, 21-9 
2. Sophie Bukovec/Alexa Strange (USC) def. Lara Schreiber/Nikki Taylor (UH); 21-16, 21-10 
3. Nicolette Martin/Allie Wheeler (USC) def. Ginger Long/Mikayla Tucker (UH); 19-21, 21-17, 15-11 
4. Hannah Rooks/Ka'iwi Schucht (UH) def. Jenna Belton/Katrina Kernochan (USC); 21-15, 21-19 
5. Jo Kremer/Zoe Nightingale (USC) def. Ari Homayun/Tai Manu-Olevao (UH); 21-17, 21-19