HONOLULU – The No. 6 University of Hawai'i women's beach volleyball team capped an undefeated weekend with a pair of wins Sunday in the Heineken Hawai'i Invitational at Queen's Beach. UH breezed past Nebraska, 5-0, in the tournament semifinals, before out-lasting No. 11 Cal, 3-2, for the second straight day in the championship match.
 
The Rainbow Wahine improved to 9-4 after going a perfect 5-0 during the weekend. It was also a record-setting day for Ari Homayun who with a pair of wins became UH's all-time leader in dual match wins (96), surpassing Kaiwi Schucht (94). The senior from Woodland Hills, Calif., is a team-best 12-1 this year and upped her overall win total (dual + tournament) to just one shy of 100.
 
UH opened the morning with an easy 5-0 win over Nebraska (10-6), picking up sweeps on four of five courts. A 5-0 win by Cal (10-3) over Boise State (6-5) in the second semifinal set up a rematch of Saturday's thrilling contest between the Bears and 'Bows. UH squeezed by with a 3-2 win in Saturday's match and another tight match was in order.
 
UH went up 2-1 with wins on the No. 2 and 3 courts, while falling on court 5. That left the match in the hands of the No. 1 and No. 4 flights in a pair of three-set matches. The Bears evened the match up 2-2 when Jordan Polo and Mima Mirkovic took down Emily Maglio and Amy Ozee, 21-15, 19-21, 15-11.
 
For the second straight day, the No. 4 court would be the finalizer and for the second straight day freshman Kylin Loker put down the game-winner. On Saturday she team with Pani Napoleon to beat the Bears in three sets. This time it was with Hi'ilawe Huddleston as they pulled out a 21-15, 17-21, 17-15 win over Madison Dueck and Alexia Inman. For her clutch play, Loker was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
 
The Rainbow Wahine will be back in action on Monday when they host Nebraska in a live televised match on Spectrum Sports at the T.C. Ching Complex. The match starts at 4:00 p.m. with the televised portion beginning at 7:00, first with the No. 2 flight, followed by the No. 1 flight.
 
Semifinals
Hawai'i  5, Nebraska 0
1: Ozee/Maglio (UH) def. Lauren Stirvins/Nicklin Hames (NEB) 21-9, 21-19
2: Homayun/Julia Scoles (UH) def. Kenzie Knuckles/Jazz Sweet (NEB) 21-12, 21-11
3: Napoleon/Morgan Martin (UH) def. Madi Kubik/Mari Kurkova (NEB) 21-4, 21-10
4: Loker/Huddleston (UH) def. Anezka Szabo/Hayley Densberger (NEB) 21-6, 21-13
5: Ashley Stevens/Sofia Russo (UH) def. Megan Miller/Callie Schwarzenback (NEB) 17-21, 21-7, 15-12
Order of finish: Doubles 3,2,4*,1,5
 
Championship
Hawai'i  3, Cal 2
1: Polo/Mirkovic (CAL) def. Maglio/Ozee (UH) 21-15, 19-21, 15-11
2: Scoles/Homayun (UH) def. Caroline Schafer/Iya Lindahl (CAL) 21-15, 21-13
3: Napoleon/Martin (UH) def. Grace Campbell/Madi Micheletti (CAL) 22-20, 21-15
4: Huddleston/Loker (UH) def. Dueck/Inman (CAL) 21-15, 17-21, 17-15
5: Mia Merino/Abby Waldburger (CAL) def. Russo/Stevens (UH) 21-9, 21-18
Order of finish: 5,2,3,1,4*
 
Other Saturday Results
Semifinal #2: Cal 5, Boise State 0
Third Place Match: Boise State 4, Nebraska 1
 
Tournament Awards
Aloha Spirit Award: Kenzie Knuckles, Nebraksa
Best Blocker: Emily Maglio, Hawai'i
Best Defender: Janell Walley, Boise State
Best Attacker: Mima Mirkovich, Cal
Most Outstanding Player: Kylin Loker, Hawai'i