DeLAND, Fla. – The No. 5 University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine beach volleyball team is up for another busy week over spring break, in the heart of central Florida against a very talented slate of opposition. UH heads to the Stetson Beach Invitational in DeLand, Fla., facing a field composed of Florida Atlantic, No. 10 Florida International, No. 2 Florida State and No. 9 Stetson, in addition to a dual match vs. Tulane at the Cooper Beach Volleyball Courts.

After meeting a tough week head on at home, the No. 5 Rainbow Wahine (4-5) will open competition up this week with a one-off dual match versus Tulane on Stetson's Cooper Beach Volleyball Courts, Thursday, March 24 at 2:30 p.m. EDT (8:30 a.m. HT). The Green Wave (10-3) will come up to meet the Rainbow Wahine after facing UCLA and Florida Atlantic in the FAU Duals on Wednesday morning in Boca Raton, Fla. This will be the first meeting between the programs.

On Friday, the 'SandBows' will get to work early in the Stetson Beach Invitational, opening up with host Stetson in the second match, Friday, March 25 at 10:30 a.m. EDT (4:30 a.m. HT). The No. 9 Hatters are 13-1 and will play back-to-back matches against Atlantic Sun Conference-mate North Florida on Wednesday. Despite both programs' prominence in the early years of the sport, this will be the first meeting between the teams.

Later on Friday, UH will meet up with Florida Atlantic at 1:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 a.m. HT) in tournament action. The Owls are 5-3 and will face UCLA and Tulane on Wednesday at home. They too will be meeting the SandBows for the first time.

On to Saturday, March 26, for the biggest UH match of the week, as the SandBows face No. 2 Florida State at 10:30 a.m. EDT (4:30 a.m. HT) in the second match of the day. The Seminoles are a perfect 12-0 after defeating Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas, also putting in perfect sweeps against TCU and Houston Baptist. The Seminoles will meet FIU and UCLA in tournament action before taking on UH. The SandBows are 1-3 all-time against FSU, most recently defeating the Seminoles 4-1 in the 2015 Aloha Invitational.

The SandBows will close up competition at the Stetson Beach on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 a.m. HT) with No. 10 Florida International. The Panthers hold a 5-2 record, most recently defeating LSU and Louisiana Monroe to close out the Tiger Beach Challenge in Baton Rouge, La. on March 13. The programs have not met since 2014, but UH holds the 2-0 series advantage over FIU.

The Rainbow Wahine are coming off a sound week of action on O'ahu, mixing matches between Queen's Beach and the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, coming away with a 2-2 record in team duals and second-place finish in the Hawai'i Invitational team pairs competition. The SandBows closed out the week with a sound 4-1 victory over defending indoor National Champion Nebraska on Sunday.

Despite the early-hour contests for those following on O'ahu, it will be easy to keep up with the SandBows on the road in Florida, as the tournament will receive live scoring coverage throughout from Stetson Athletics.

After returning from Florida, UH will begin next month with another tournament on Queen's Beach, with the Outrigger Beach Volleyball Challenge bringing Arizona State and No. 4 UCLA to Honolulu, April 1-2.

On the Slate for Beach This Week
Single Dual Team Match
What: Neutral-Site Dual
Who: No. 5 Hawai'i vs. Tulane
When: Thursday, March 24, 2:30 p.m. EDT (8:30 a.m. HT)
Where: DeLand, Fla. (Cooper Beach Volleyball Courts)

Tournament Event
What: Stetson Beach Invitational
Who: No. 5 Hawai'i vs. Florida Atlantic, No. 10 Florida International, No. 2 Florida State and No. 9 Stetson
When: Friday-Saturday, March 24-25
            Friday, 10:30 a.m. EDT (4:30 a.m. HT): Stetson (Live Stats)
            Friday, 1:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 a.m. HT): Florida Atlantic (Live Stats)
            Saturday, 10:30 a.m. EDT (4:30 a.m. HT): Florida State (Live Stats)
            Saturday, 1:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 a.m. HT): Florida International (Live Stats)
Where: DeLand, Fla. (Cooper Beach Volleyball Courts)