HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i women's beach volleyball team plays host to the 2018 Big West Beach Volleyball Tournament, April 27-29, at Queen's Beach. The SandBows are the two-time defending tournament champions and will look for a three-peat in the six-team event.
 
The team competition, a double-elimination bracket, will run for two days with a champion crowned on Saturday. For the first time ever, the Big West will also hold a pairs championship. A total of 16 pairs will compete in single-elimination tournament on Sunday.  Admission to the three-day event is free.
 
It should be a competitive tournament with three teams ranked nationally in the top ten. UH has been ranked No. 3 for the last six weeks. Cal Poly is ranked a program-best fourth, while Long Beach State is at No. 6 in the latest AVCA Poll.

UH and Cal Poly are the top two seeds and will receive a bye in the double-elimination tournament. The Rainbow Wahine will face the winner of the  (4) CSUN-(5) Cal State Bakersfield matchup on Friday at noon.  This is the second time in three seasons that UH has received the top seed and the SandBows are 6-0 all-time in the tournament.
  
Hawai'i defeated all five of its league foes at last month's Big West Challenge in Northern California. Four came via sweeps, including its first-ever against Long Beach State. UH's match against Cal Poly was an epic battle, with UH getting past the Mustangs, 4-1, in one of its most tightly contested matches of the season.
 
The Rainbow Wahine have won a school-record 27 straight matches, the longest active streak in the country, just ahead of top-ranked UCLA (26). 

In addition, the Big West will hold its first-ever pairs championship on Sunday. Four UH pairs are in the field of 16: (1) Ka'iwi Schucht/Emily Maglio; (3) Morgan Martin/Lea Monkhouse; (7) Carly Kan/Laurel Weaver; and (12) Ari Homayun/Amy Ozee. Schucht and Maglio have won 23 straight matches and are 23-0 at the No. 1 flight. Homayun and Ozee have won 21 straight at the No. 4 flight, dropping just one set during that span.

2018 Big West Beach Volleyball Tournament
Who (Tournament Seeds): No. 1 Hawai'i, No. 2 Cal Poly, No. 3 Long Beach State, No. 4 CSUN, No. 5 CSU Bakersfield, No. 6 Sacramento State,
When: Friday-Sunday, April 27-29; First serve at 10:00 am.
Where: Queen's Beach, Honolulu, O'ahu
Admission: Free
Twitter: @BigWestWVB
Live Scoring: Statbroadcast.com