HONOLULU – The No. 5 University of Hawaii beach volleyball team won all three of its matches on the opening day of the Outrigger Resorts Hawai'i Invitational, highlighted by a 3-2 upset of No. 3 USC Saturday at Queen's Beach. UH also blanked Nebraska, 5-0, and concluded the day with a 4-1 win over No. 12 Grand Canyon.
 
In the opening match of the tournament, the Rainbow Wahine (10-3) breezed past Nebraska (3-7) in UH's first match against an unranked squad this year. UH won all five courts in straight sets, just the second time that's happened this year.
 
UH then took on defending national champion USC in their first matchup since last year's NCAA Tournament. Things started rough for the SandBows, who fell behind a set on all five courts. But UH rallied to force a third set on four courts, eventually winning on three of them to pull the upset.
 
 After USC took the first point, UH evened things up on Ari Homayun and Amy Ozee's 11-21, 21-16, 15-9 win on Court 4. USC took a 2-1 lead with a three-set win on Court 1, but within minutes of each other, UH got a 18-21, 21-19, 15-9 win by Morgan Martin and Lea Monkhouse on Court 3, followed by a 21-23, 21-14, 15-6 win by Paige Dreeuws and Hannah Zalopany on Court 5 to clinch the win.
 
It marked just the second win for UH over USC (10-5) in 14 all-time matches. The only other UH win came, 3-2, in the 2014 AVCA Nationals.  
 
In the final match of the day, the SandBows kept their momentum with a 4-1 win over No. 12 Grand Canyon. All four of UH's points came in straight sets, though the Antelopes (6-6) did pick up a point on Court 5 when Emily Reinking and Jamie Walsh defeated Dreeuws and Zalopany 21-18, 21-15. With the victory, UH picked up its fifth straight win overall, while remaining undefeated all-time (6-0) against Grand Canyon.  
 
The Outrigger Resorts Hawaii Invitational continues on Sunday with five matches, beginning at 8:30 a.m.  The SandBows will again take on USC (9:45 a.m.), Grand Canyon (12:45 p.m.), and Nebraska (1:30 p.m.).
 
 
Hawai'i 5, Nebraska 0
1: Carly Kan/Laurel Weaver (UH) def. Kelly Hunter/Lauren Stivrins (NEB) 21-9, 21-16
2: Ka'iwi Schucht/Emily Maglio (UH) def. Annika Albrecht/Kenzie Maloney (NEB) 26-24, 21-18
3: Martin/Monkhouse (UH) def. Sami Slaughter/Jazz Sweet (NEB) 21-7, 21-10
4: Homayun/Ozee (UH) def. Hayley Densberger/Chesney McClellan (NEB) 21-14, 21-11
5: Dreeuws/Zalopany (UH) def. Allie Havers/Jasmine Schmidt (NEB) 21-8, 21-15
Order of finish: 1,3,4*,5,2
 
Hawaii 3, USC 2
1: Tina Graudina/Abril Bustamante (USC) def. Kan/Weaver (UH) 21-19, 19-21, 15-7
2: Terese Cannon/Sammy Slater (USC) def. Maglio/Schucht (UH) 21-18, 21-16
3. Martin/Monkhouse (UH) def. Haley Hallgren/Joy Dennis (USC) 18-21, 21-19, 15-9
4: Homayun/Ozee (UH) def. Katrina Kernochan/Alexandra Poletto (USC) 11-21, 21-16, 15-9
5: Dreeuws/Zalopany (UH) def. Jo Kremer/Jenna Belton (USC) 21-23, 21-14, 15-6
Order of finish: Doubles 2,4,1,3,5*
 
Hawai'i 4, Grand Canyon 1
1: Kan/Weaver (UH) def. Molly Turner/Kelli Iverson (GCU) 21-19, 21-15
2: Schucht/Maglio (UH) def. Hannah Towne/Jessica Stansfield (GCU) 21-15, 21-19
3: Monkhouse/Martin (UH) def. Katie Pyles/Jessica Clark (GCU) 26-24, 21-15
4: Homayun/Ozee (UH) def. Bella Bauman/Taylor Jarzombek (GCU) 21-13, 21-18
5. Reinking/Walsh (GCU) def. Dreeuws/Zalopany (UH) 21-18, 21-15
Order of finish: 2,1,5,4*,3
 
Other Tournament Results
USC 5, Grand Canyon 0
Grand Canyon 3, Nebraska 2
USC 5, Nebraska 0