GULF SHORES, Ala. – In a roller coaster of an opening day, the University of Hawai'i beach volleyball team kept its season alive at the 2019 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship. After falling to defending national champions UCLA, 3-2, in its first match, UH rebounded with a commanding 3-0 victory over conference rival Cal Poly
 
The No. 7 seed SandBows (27-10) will next play upstart and No. 8 seed Stetson (30-9) in a contenders bracket match Saturday at 10:00 a.m. CT/5:00 a.m. HT.  The match is moved up four hours ahead of its original start time due to potential weather. The Hatters upset top-seed USC before falling to No. 5 LSU on Friday. The match will be televised live on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN3.
 
In the opening match, UH took UCLA to the limit with four of the five courts going to three sets. UH held a 2-1 lead after wins by Ari Homayun and Julia Scoles on Court 2 and Hi'ilawe Huddleston and Kylin Loker on Court 4. But the Bruins ultimately clinched the match with a rally on Court 1. Emily Maglio and Amy Ozee had multiple match points against UCLA's Megan and Nicole McNamara, but the Bruin pair ended the match with three consecutive points to pick up a 20-22, 21-15, 20-18 win.
 
In the second match of the day, the 'Bows faced Big West rival Cal Poly. The Mustangs (25-12) defeated the SandBows three times already this season, including twice in last week's Big West Tournament. But the SandBows flipped the script on the Mustangs, who were making their first NCAA appearance.
 
Homayun and Scoles were a driving force in the match. After falling behind 15-7 in the first set against  Macy Gordon and Emily Sonny, the pair eventually pulled out a 21-19, 21-17 victory. It was the clinching point for UH which also got straight-set wins from Huddleston and Loker on Court 4 and Morgan Martin and Pani Napoleon on Court 3.
 
Homayun and Scoles improved to a team-best 28-6 together, while Homayun moved her win total to 31 this season. It marks the third straight season that the senior has won at least 30 matches. Homayun, the school's all-time wins leader also  moved to 11-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament.
 
UH now faces Stetson, the only team in the NCAA tournament field UH has not faced this year. The SandBows, however, are 3-0 all-time against the Hatters with the teams last meeting in Honolulu in 2017.
 
UCLA 3, Hawai'i 2
1: M. McNamara/N. McNamara (UCLA) def. Maglio/Ozee (UH) 20-22, 21-15, 20-18
2: Homayun/Scoles (UH) def. Lily Justine/Sarah Sponcil (UCLA) 22-20, 21-19
3: Zana Muno/Abby Van Winkle (UCLA) def. Martin/Napoleon (UH) 21-18, 19-21, 15-10
4: Huddleston/Loker (UH) def. Lea Monkhouse/Savy Simo (UCLA) 21-16, 12-21, 15-9
5: Izzy Carey/Lindsey Sparks (UCLA) def. Norene Iosia/Sofia Russo (UH) 21-16, 21-9
Order of finish: 5,2,4,3,1*
 
Hawai'i 3, Cal Poly 0
1: Crissy Jones/Tiadora Miric (CP) vs. Maglio/Ozee (UH) 16-21, 21-17, unfinished
2: Homayun/Scoles (UH) def. Macy Gordon/Emily Sonny (CP) 21-19, 21-17
3: Martin/Napoleon (UH) def. Delaney Peranich/Samantha Manley (CP) 21-15, 21-16
4. Huddleston/Loker (UH) def. Heather Pembroke/Kassandra Wright (CP) 21-17, 21-18
5. Brayden Gruenewald/Vanessa Roscoe (CP) vs. Iosia/Russo (UH) 21-18, 15-21, unfinished
Order of finish: 3,4,2*