HONOLULU – The No. 16 University of Hawai'i beach volleyball team made its 2021 home debut a winning one with a 3-2 victory over No. 15 Long Beach State Thursday night at the Clarence T.C. Ching Courts. The Rainbow Wahine improved to 6-4 on the season with a win over their Big West rival.
 
The teams met just five days ago with Long Beach State squeaking past the BeachBows, 3-2, in the Big West Challenge in California. UH avenged that close loss and in the process defeated LBSU (10-8) for the eighth time in the last nine meetings.   
 
With UH leading the dual match 2-1, the No. 2 pair of Pani Napoleon and Jaime Santer (UH) out-lasted Nicci Reinking and Katie Kennedy in three sets,  21-18, 15-21, 15-9, to shut the door on the Beach. The 'Bows would ultimately drop the top flight to Long Beach State just moments later, but it proved a moot point with the 'Bows having wrapped up the match. It marked Napoleon and Santers sixth straight win together.  
 
The No. 5 pair of Anna Maidment and Sofia Russo set the tone for the Rainbow Wahine at the start of the dual. The duo rebounded from a first set loss to rally past Emily Matton and Jillian Rodriguez 19-21, 21-18, 16-14. In the third set, Maidment and Russo raced out to a 5-0 lead and held a 13-8 lead late. The LBSU pair roared back to tie things at 13-13 but Maidment and Russo retained their poise and composure to take three of the final four points and give UH the important first point of the day.
 
UH also got a strong performance at the No. 3 flight from veterans Kylin Loker and Harlee Kekauoha who played together for just the second time this season. They picked up a 21-15, 21-15 straight set win over Makenzie Griffin and Kenzie Holtz to give the BeachBows a 2-1 dual match lead.
 
The two teams will resume their series on Saturday, April 3 with a doubleheader at the Ching Courts. The first match begins at noon, while the second match is set to start at 3 p.m. and will be televised live on Spectrum Sports.
 
UH 3, Long Beach State 2
1. Mari Molina/Tyler Spriggs (LBSU) def. Amber Igiede/Brooke Van Sickle (UH) 21-19, 21-18
2. Napoleon/Santer (UH) def. Reinking/Kennedy (LBSU) 21-18, 15-21, 15-9
3. Loker/Kekauoha (UH) def. Griffin/Holtz (LBSU) 21-15, 21-15
4. Skyler Germann/Alice Pratesi (LBSU) def. Kaylee Glagau/Ilihia Huddleston (UH) 21-19, 21-19
5. Maidment/Russo (UH) def. Matton/Rodriguez (LBSU) 19-21, 21-18, 16-14
Exhibition: Sabrina Hardisty/Sydney Rau-Kim (UH) def. Sophie Major/Claire Newlander (LBSU) 21-13, 21-13
Order of Finish: 5,4,3,2,1