SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The No. 6 University of Hawai'i water polo team (3-1) opened its week on an extremely high note, routing Santa Clara on Thursday afternoon at Sullivan Aquatic Center for their third consecutive win, 23-5, dominating from the opening sprint.
 
The Rainbow Wahine arrived in Santa Clara with a heavy offensive attack in mind, as senior Chloe Barr dusted off the net with a UH goal in the first 25 seconds. Junior Irene Gonzalez got a big night started with her first goal at 7:00, then Barr and senior Claire Nixon added another pair to make it a 4-0 UH advantage just over 2:30 into the game.
 
The 'Bows showed no signs of slowing early, as first-semester freshman Elyse Lemay-Lavoie scored two goals in 24 seconds during her first collegiate appearance, later going on to a career-first hat trick. Lemay-Lovoie, junior Femke Aan and sophomore Carla Abellan helped the 'Bows to an eight-goal advantage at the end of the first. UH nearly shutout the Broncos in the opening stanza, holding SCU until 2:15 remained to end the first quarter with a 9-1 lead.
 
The second quarter saw Gonzalez, Aan, Lemay-Lovoie and Barr all reach hat tricks as the 'Bows offense laid it on thick around the cage for SCU goalie Lydia Dadd. It was the third consecutive game for Gonzalez reaching that mark, second-straight for Aan, the first for Barr this season and a career-first for Lemay-Lovoie. Aan put the exclamation point on the half, scoring her third and final goal after collecting a steal and beating everyone in an end-to-end sprint for an easy one-on-one with the Dadd for the score, pushing UH ahead 16-4 at the break.
 
The third period slowed for the 'Bows, working out new lineups for a 2-1 advantage in the quarter, but Hawai'i again dominated in the fourth, carrying a 5-0 period to the final 23-5 margin.
 
On the match, Hawai'i 71.9 percent with 12 different scorers, paced by Gonzalez' four goals. Aan, Barr and Lemay-Lovoie each finished with three scores apiece. The Rainbow Wahine recorded 23 steals in the match, topped by Carla Abellan with five, while Erica Pauley had four.

In the cage, senior Ymane Hage fended off the Broncos, recording six saves during her first-half appearance. Taking over at the break, freshman Molly DiLalla tallied five saves and two steals.
 

February 1, 2018  |  Sullivan Aquatic Center (Santa Clara, Calif.)
Scoring by Quarters
#6 Hawai'i (3-1)	9	7	2	5	- 23
Santa Clara (1-1)	1	3	1	0	- 5
UH Scoring: Irene Gonzalez (4), Femke Aan (3), Chloe Barr (3), Elyse Lemay-Lavoie, Carla Abellan (2), Lalelei Mata'afa (2), Maartje  Keuning (1), Samantha Malouff (1), Claire Nixon (1), Erika Pauley (1), Samantha Shaw (1), Hannah Thompson (1)
SCU Scoring: Hannah Buck (2), Maria Dominguez (1), Hailey Eberle (1), Lauren Paxton (1)

 

Coming off their third consecutive win, the Rainbow Wahine head to Tempe, Ariz. to meet a stout all-ranked field at the ASU Cross Conference Challenge on Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 3-4). The Rainbow Wahine are slated to face No. 5 Arizona State, Nos. 17 Princeton and UC San Diego, as well as a rematch with No. 21 Loyola Marymount.