IRVINE, Calif. – The No. 5 University of Hawai'i water polo team saw its nine-match winning streak fall on Saturday morning at the Anteater Aquatics Center, but then rallied for another top 10 victory in the afternoon match. In the morning session, No. 4 UCLA outscored UH 3-2 in the fourth quarter to slip away for the 9-8 victory, but the Rainbow Wahine held off the No. 8 Pacific Tigers in a 12-10 win to conclude the second day of competition at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational.
 
Match 1 (UCLA 9, Hawai'i 8)
Coming out of a 6-6 tie at the end of the third quarter, the Bruins' Bronte Halligan and Brooke Maxson scored twice in the first three minutes of the fourth, pushing the 'Bows to play catch up during the final period. With 3:49 remaining, freshman Elyse Lemay-Lavoie netted her second goal of the half to trim the deficit, but UCLA's Maddie Musselman answered the score just 37 seconds later. Just 36 seconds ticked off before sophomore Maartje Keuning provided UH's response, taking the gap back to one goal.
 
In the final 2:30, the Rainbow Wahine grabbed a pair of turnovers from the Bruins, but couldn't get a shot off as the score went final in UCLA's favor, 9-8.
 
The teams traded scores throughout the first half, but Musselman's goal with 1:31 remaining in the second quarter gave UCLA the upper hand heading into the break. Irene Gonzalez and Lemay-Lavoie fired off a pair in the third, while the 'Bows held the Bruins to a single goal for the tie heading into the final frame.
 
Keuning, Gonzalez and Lemay-Lavoie finished with two goals apiece in the early match, while senior Ymane Hage logged six saves in goal.

 

February 24, 2018  |  Anteater Aquatics Center (Irvine, Calif.)
Scoring by Quarters
#5 Hawai'i (9-2)	1	3	2	2	- 8
#4 UCLA (15-1)	2	3	1	3	- 9
UH Scoring: Elyse Lemay-Lavoie (2), Irene Gonzalez (2), Maartje Keuning (2),  Chloe Barr (1), Claire Nixon (1)
UCLA Scoring: Alexis Liebowitz (2), Maddie Musselman (2), Brooke Maxson (2),  Lizette Rozeboom (2), Bronte Halligan (1)

 






Match 2 (Hawai'i 12, Pacific 10)
Early scoring for the Rainbow Wahine proved to come in handy, as Hawai'i held off a late surge by the No. 8 Pacific Tigers at the Anteater Aquatics Center.

Although Mariana Duarte scored first for Pacific in the opening minute of the match, Gonzalez countered for UH just over 20 seconds later and again inside the four-minute mark to lead Hawai'i to a 5-1 advantage at the end of the opening quarter – coupled with a trio of scores by Aan and Keuning.

The Tigers began to make a move in the second quarter, outscoring UH 5-3 to trim the deficit to 8-6 at halftime – despite the efforts of Lemay-Lavoie and Gonzalez.

The third quarter saw the Rainbow Wahine rattle off three unanswered scores across a three-minute stretch from Gonzalez, Carmen Baringo and Erika Pauley to extend the advantage. However, in the final frame it was a race to the finish, as Pacific piled up three scores.

It was Nixon's final UH goal with 5:08 remaining that helped to keep the Tigers outside of tying distance, only drawing as close as two goals with Kyra Christmas' 2:20 score in the fourth, holding off the charge for a 12-10 victory.

Gonzalez matched her season high with five goals to lead all scorers, while Aan netted two and Hage recorded four saves.

 

February 24, 2018  |  Anteater Aquatics Center (Irvine, Calif.)
Scoring by Quarters
#5 Hawai'i (10-2)	5	3	3	1	- 12
#8 Pacific (6-4)	1	5	1	3	- 10
UH Scoring: Irene Gonzalez (5), Femke Aan (2),  Carmen Baringo (1), Elyse Lemay-Lavoie (1), Maartje Keuning (1), Claire Nixon (1), Erika Pauley (1)
UOP Scoring: Kyra Christmas (4), Mariana Duarte (2), Truly Dorland (1),  Karolina Hlavata (1), Rachel Krieger (1), Viktoria Szmodics (1)

 






With the split day, the Rainbow Wahine will play Sunday for fifth place at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational. Scheduled for 8:15 a.m. HT, fifth-ranked Hawai'i will meet No. 6 Arizona State in a rematch at the Anteater Aquatics Complex. UH defeated ASU in Tempe, Ariz. on Feb. 3, 10-9.