HONOLULU – In a race to the finish between two conference rivals, No. 6 Cal Poly clipped the No. 14 University of Hawaii beach volleyball team, 3-2, to open up a weekend series Friday night at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex. UH dropped to 7-6 overall with the setback. 
 
The teams met earlier this season with Cal Poly pulling out a 3-2 win on March 27 in San Luis Obispo. The end result was the same, but the drama was much different this time with nearly all the courts coming down to the wire in a roller coaster of a match. After Cal Poly (15-4) took the first point with a straight-set win at the No. 5 flight, the next four matchups all went the distance.
 
Cal Poly held the early momentum by taking flight No. 5 and taking the first sets in flights three and four. But UH battled back to force a third set on each court. Kaylee Glagau and Ilihia Huddleston took out Sam Strah and Delaney Peranich 17-21, 21-16, 15-11 to gain UH's first point of the match. However, Cal Poly's Mariah Whalen and Tia Miric turned back Harlee Kekauoha and Kylin Loker 22-20, 10-21, 15-13 to give the Mustangs a 2-1 lead. It was the first loss in five matches for the pairing of Kekauoha and Loker.
 
It all came down to the top two flights and the competition was fierce with nail-biting action in the decisive third sets. Ultimately Cal Poly clinched the third point when top pair Macy Gordon and Emily Sonny scored five of the final six points in set three to rally past Amber Igiede and Brooke Van Sickle 17-21, 21-9, 15-13. Moments later Pani Napoleon and Jaime Santer completed their own rally by rebounding from a first set trouncing to get past Jayelin Lombard and former Rainbow Wahine Amy Ozee 12-21, 21-17, 15-10. But it wasn't enough as the Mustangs defeated the BeachBows for the fifth time in the last six match-ups and first time in three meetings in Honolulu.
 
The Rainbow Wahine and Mustangs will tangle again with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 10. The first match will start at 3 p.m., while the second will start at 7 p.m. and be televised live on Spectrum Sports. Saturday will mark the final home dual matches for seniors Harlee Kekauoha and Pani Napoleon.
 
Cal Poly 3, Hawai'i 2
1. Gordon/Sonny (CP) def. Igiede/Van Sickle (UH), 17-21, 21-9, 15-13
2. Napoleon/Santer (UH) def. Lombard/Ozee (CP) 12-21, 21-17, 15-10
4. Whalen/Miric (CP) def. Kekauoha/Loker (UH) 22-20, 10-21, 15-13
3. Glagau/Huddleston (UH) def. Strah/Peranich (CP) 17-21, 21-16, 15-11
5. Josie Ulrich/Vanessa Roscoe (CP) def. Sofia Russo/Anna Maidment (UH) 21-17, 21-12
Exh: Sabrina Hardisty/Riley Wagoner (UH) vs. Hannah Rogers/Eleonore Johansen (CP) 21-18 CP 21-18 UH, unfinished
Order of finish: 5, 3, 4, 1*, 2