HONOLULU – The No. 5 University of Hawai'i water polo team (17-4, 2-0 Big West) will take the pool for the final time on Saturday at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Center for the final Big West home match of the 2018 season, hosting No. 14 Long Beach State (11-11, 2-1 Big West) on Senior Night.
 
The Rainbow Wahine will bid aloha to five outgoing seniors after the match with the 49ers: goalie Kayla Chang (La'ie, O'ahu), goalie Ymane Hage (Montreal, Quebec), utility Erika Pauley (Seal Beach, Calif.), utility Claire Nixon (Staffordshire, England) and utility Chloe Barr (Adelaide, Australia). Hawai'i will honor each senior, followed by their final Senior Float at the DKAC.
 
Heading into a pivotal conference match against one of the other Big West leaders, junior attacker Irene Gonzalez leads not only the 'Bows but also the conference with 46 goals, a 2.30 goals average, a 1.55 assists average and ranks second in the Big West with a team-high 1.55 steals per match.
 
Barr ranks seventh in the Big West with 36 goals, also 25 assists, while Nixon has logged 29 assists for the 'Bows. In addition, UH's Dutch connection, Femke Aan and Maartje Keuning both tie for 10th in the league with 32 goals apiece.
 
The Rainbow Wahine are averaging 11.76 goals per outing while limiting the opposition to just 6.29, scoring 30 percent of their goals in the opening period to play from ahead in the lion's share of matches this year. On average, Hawai'i is shooting 42.9 percent and getting after it on defense with an 11.4 steals per match average.
 
For the 49ers, senior center Alexandra Massier leads the way, scoring a team-high 30 goals, in tandem with sophomore utility Marilia Eleni Mimidi's 24 scores. Senior utility Virginia Smith has 21 goals and a team-high 26 steals. LBSU averages 7.7 goals per match, while allowing 5.7 scores on average. The 49ers have logged wins in their last two outings, but dropped their last BWC match at UC Davis – the 'Bows topped UCD 12-7 last week at the DKAC.
 
UH's oldest foe, the 49ers and Rainbow Wahine will meet for the 32nd time on Saturday. Hawai'i holds a 24-7 advantage in the series, but has split the last four meetings. UH has won the last five meetings in Honolulu. Last time out, LBSU topped UH 8-7 on the opening day of the 2017 Big West tournament at UC Davis, going on to finish as runner-up.
 
After Senior day, the Rainbow Wahine will still have two more matches next week as they vie for their third Big West title, heading to southern California for outings at UC Santa Barbara (April 14) and CSUN (April 15).
 
Saturday, April 7
Opponent: No. 14 Long Beach State
Live Stats: FOSH
Time: 6:00 p.m. HT
Where: Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex (Honolulu, O'ahu)
Special Events and Promotions: Each time the UH team scores a goal, a lucky name is drawn and receives a coupon courtesy of Jack In The Box.  Also, t-shirts will be thrown into the stands between each of the quarters. The University of Hawaii Federal Credit Union will host the traditional "Senior Night" plaque ceremony following the match for the five outgoing Rainbow Wahine seniors followed by the final Senior Float.