IRVINE, Calif.  – The No. 5 University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine water polo team (9-1) made a strong showing in their debut match at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, Friday at the Anteater Aquatics Center. The Rainbow Wahine picked apart No. 14 San Diego State (5-5) and pulled away from the Aztecs late for the 13-4 win, extending their win streak to nine matches and moving into the winners bracket to start the weekend.
 
The Rainbow Wahine showed strength in both facets, as senior goalkeeper Ymane Hage collected a career-high 12 saves against the Aztecs, and eight UH scorers put points on the board.
 
Kicking off her fifth hat trick in seven matches, first-semester freshman Elyse Lemay-Lavoie got things started for Hawai'i, tacking up the match's first goal at 5:56 in the first. Irene Gonzale and Femke Aan followed with a pair of scores across the next three minutes as UH shut out SDSU in the opening stanza.
 
The UH lead expanded in the second, despite the Aztecs finally reaching the scoreboard. Kicked off again by Lemay-Lavoie, Chloe Barr and Maartje Keuning got in the action, while freshman Carmen Baringo put the icing on the first half with a last-second goal to take the 7-1 advantage into the break.
 
The Aztecs upped their offense in the third, matching goals from Lemay-Lavoie and Gonzalez, but the gates opened for the Rainbow Wahine in the fourth. Senior Claire Nixon got UH started but the final nail came from a three-minute stretch scores from Barr, Aan and freshman Ann Inoue to balloon the advantage to nine goals and the final margin at 13-4.
 
Hawai'i shot 41.9 percent and limited SDSU to just 15.4 percent, taking advantage of 5-of-8 power plays for scores.
 

February 23, 2018  |  Anteater Aquatics Center (Irvine, Calif.)
Scoring by Quarters
#5 Hawai'i (9-1)	3	4	2	4	- 13
#14 San Diego State (5-5)	0	1	2	1	- 4
UH Scoring: Elyse Lemay-Lavoie (3), Femke Aan (2), Chloe Barr (2), Irene Gonzalez (2), Carmen Baringo (1), Ann Inoue (1), Maartje Keuning (1), Claire Nixon (1)
SDSU Scoring: Emily Bennett (2), Shelby Kraft (1), Maddy Parenteau (1)

 





The Rainbow Wahine return to action on Saturday at the Anteater Aquatics Center to face off with No. 4 UCLA (14-1) at 7:15 a.m. HT. The Bruins opened the tournament with a 13-3 victory over UC Santa Barbara.