DAVIS, Calif. -- The No. 6 University of Hawaii beach volleyball team began its 2021 campaign by splitting a pair of matches on Monday at the UC Davis Beach Volleyball Courts. The Rainbow Wahine fell to No. 19 Stanford, 4-1, before rebounding against Big West foe and host UC Davis with a 5-0 sweep.
 
In the opener against Stanford (5-3), the Rainbow Wahine (1-1) got off to a slow start and couldn't recover. The Cardinal jumped out to a 2-0 lead with wins on courts 2 and 4. UH's lone win came on the No. 5 court where the pair of Kaylee Glagau and Anna Maidment picking up a a 21-9, 21-19 win over Winslow Church/Kylee Matheson. That made it a 2-1 score, but the Cardinals closed out the win with straight set victories at flights 1 and 3.  It marked UH first loss to Stanford in 10 all-time meetings.
 
UH, however, bounced back in the second match against the host Aggies to hand Angelica Ljungqvist her first career win as head coach. In just the second all-time meeting between the squads, the BeachBows re-found its footing winning four of its five courts in straight sets. Ilihia Huddleston and Jaime Santer were particularly dominate at the No. 3 flight with a 21-11, 21-9 sweep of Rose Holscher and Madelin Smith.
 
The Rainbow Wahine will be back in action tomorrow when they take on No. 11 California (10:00 a.m. HT) and a rematch with UC Davis (12:00 p.m HT).
 
Stanford 4, Hawai'i 1
1. Charlie Ekstrom/Sunny Villapando (STAN) def. Harlee Kekauoha/Brooke Van Sickle (UH) 21-16, 21-13
2. Kate Reilly/Xolani Hodel (STAN) def. Amber Igiede/Pani Napoleon (UH) 14-21, 21-16, 15-6
3. Maddie Kriz/Maya Harvey (STAN) def. Ilihia Huddleston/Jaime Santer (UH) 21-16, 21-16
4. Maddie Dailey/Jordan McKinney (STAN) def. Kylin Loker/Riley Wagoner (UH) 21-15, 20-22, 15-12
5. Glagau/Maidment (UH) def. Winslow Church/Kylee Matheson (STAN) 21-9, 21-19
Order of finish: 2,4,5,1,3
 
Hawai'i 5, UC Davis 0
1. Kekauoha/Van Sickle (UH) def. Paloma Bowman/Colleen McGuire (UCD) 22-21, 21-18
2. Igiede/Napoleon (UH) def. Megan Luly/Heather Reed (UCD) 21-19, 21-15
3. Huddleston/Santer (UH) def. Rose Holscher/Madelin Smith (UCD) 21-11, 21-9
4. Loker/Wagoner (UH) def. Ashlee Goycoochea/Jane Seslar (UCD) 16-21, 21-14, 15-10
5. Maidment/Glagau (UH) def. Alexa Rockas/Savanah Schroeder (UCD) 21-17, 21-14
Order of finish: 2,4,5,3,1