SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The No. 10 University of Hawai'i beach volleyball team won one out of three matches on the second and final day of The Challenge, a round-robin tournament of Big West schools. The Rainbow Wahine beat CSU Bakersfield, 4-1, before falling to No. 19 Long Beach State and host and fifth-ranked Cal Poly by identical 3-2 scores.
 
UH finished the weekend with a 3-2 mark in the tournament and completed its season-opening nine-match road trip with a 5-4 overall record. All four of the team's losses came against ranked squads, including a thrilling down-to-the wire match against Long Beach State on Saturday.
 
In the first match of the day, the BeachBows took four of five courts against CSU Bakersfield for a comfortable 4-1 win. Pani Napoleon and Jaime Santer had the strongest performance as they flexed their way to an impressive 21-6, 21-9 win over Brooke Boiseau and Anna Unke at the No. 3 court. UH improved to a perfect 7-0 all-time against the Roadrunners with the win.
 
The second match of the day proved to be an epic battle between UH and LBSU. The Beach took a 2-0 lead in the match, but UH claimed the next two points, including a three-set win by Napoleon and Santer over Nicci Reinking and Katie Kennedy at the No. 2 court to even things up. It all came down to the top flight and three-set barn-burner between Brooke Van Sickle and Amber Igiede and LBSU's Tyler Spriggs and Mari Molina. In the end, the LBSU pair squeezed out a 16-21, 22-20, 18-16 decision to clinch the win for the Beach. UH had won seven straight and 11 of its last 12 against LBSU before Saturday's narrow defeat.
 
In the tournament finale, the top two teams in the Big West squared off with Cal Poly pulling out a 3-2 win. All five courts were decided in straight sets. The Mustangs claimed the first three points to clinch the match, before UH won on Courts 2 and 4 to round out the scoring. One of UH's points came at the expense of former BeachBow and current Cal Poly graduate transfer Amy Ozee and her partner Jayelin Lombard. Napoleon and Santer capped their perfect 3-0 day with a 24-22, 21-16 win over the Cal Poly pair at the No. 2 flight. The Mustangs (13-3), who have now beaten the Rainbow Wahine in four of the last five meetings, extended their season win streak to 10 matches.
 
The Rainbow Wahine will now return to the islands to play their first home matches of the year when they host Long Beach State for a trio of matches on April 1 and 3 at the T.C. Ching Beach Volleyball Courts. The teams will square off on Thursday, April 1 before playing a doubleheader on Saturday, April 3.
 
Hawai'i 4, CSU Bakersfield 1
1. Van Sickle/Igiede (UH) def. Emily Hansen/Hana Makonova (CSUB) 21-14, 21-13
2. Cameron Solberg/Milica Vukobrat (CSUB) def. Harlee Kekauoha/Lea Kruse (UH) 21-11, 14-21, 15-11
3. Santer/Napoleon (UH) def. Unke/Boiseau (CSUB) 21-6, 21-9
4. Kaylee Glagau/Ilihia Huddleston (UH) def. Alaina Gendale/Hayley McCluskey (CSUB) 21-16, 21-8
5. Sofia Russo/Anna Maidment (UH) def. Jazleigh Ortiz/Leisa Elisaia (CSUB) 21-5, 18-21, 15-6
Order of finish: 3,4,1,5,2
 
Long Beach State 3, Hawai'i 2
1. Spriggs/Molina (LBSU) def. Van Sickle/Igiede (UH) 16-21, 22-20, 18-16
2. Santer/Napoleon (UH) def. Reinking/Kennedy (LBSU) 14-21, 21-17, 15-10
3. Kenzie Holtz/Makenzie Griffin (LBSU) def. Kekauoha/Kruse (UH) 21-15, 25-23
4. Glagau/Huddleston (UH) def. Alice Pratesi/Skyler Germann (LBSU) 21-19, 21-14
5. Jillian Rodriguez/Emily Mattoon (LBSU) def. Riley Wagoner/Kylin Loker (UH) 21-18, 21-13
Order of finish: 5,3,4,2,1
 
Cal Poly 3, Hawai'i 2
1. Macy Gordon/Emily Sonny (CP) def. Igiede/Van Sickle (UH) 21-14, 21-19
2. Napoleon/Santer (UH) def. Lombard/Ozee (CP) 24-22, 21-16
3. Mariah Whalen/Tia Miric (CP) def. Glagau/Huddleston (UH) 21-11, 21-18
4. Kekauoha/Loker (UH) def. Sam Strah/Eleonore Johansen (CP) 21-12, 22-20
5. Josie Ulrich/Vanessa Roscoe (CP) def. Russo/Maidment (UH) 21-17, 21-19
Order of finish: 1,5,3,2,4