MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.   – The No. 9 University of Hawai'i beach volleyball team split a pair of matches on the first day of the UCLA Invitational Saturday in Manhattan Beach. The Rainbow Wahine (16-9) pulled off a come-from-behind 3-2 win over No. 15 Florida International before falling to No. 3 USC, 5-0.
 
Two days after falling to the top two teams in the country, UH faced a challenging slate with the nationally-ranked Panthers (15-3) and Women of Troy (17-1) on the first day of the tournament. The first match of the day was as close as it could get with UH rallying to victory. After falling behind 2-0 with losses at the No. 2 and 4 courts, the 'Bows stormed back to win the final three points agasint FIU. All three of those points went the full three sets, climaxed by Sofia Russo and Anna Maidment's clinching win at the No. 3 court. The duo rallied from a set down and fought back in the third set from four points down – including staving off a match point – to defeat Rachele Mancinelli and Emily Meyer 21-23, 21-16, 17-15. UH remained undefeated in six all-time meetings against the Panthers.
 
After a grueling first match, the 'Bows couldn't keep pace with USC later in the day. In the first meeting between the teams since the 2019 NCAA Tournament, the Women of Troy took four of the five courts in straight sets. The lone match that went the distance was the No. 3 flight where Maidment and Russo faced their former teammate in Julia Scoles. The UH duo took the first set but Scoles and her partner Delaynie Maple came back for a close 19-21, 21-11, 15-13 victory.
 
UH returns to the  beach on Sunday for the second day of the UCLA Invitational.  The 'Bows will take on No. 6 LSU at 5:30 a.m. HT before wrapping up its road trip with a matchup versus Utah at 8:30 a.m. HT.
 

Hawai'i 3 Florida International 2
1. Brooke Van Sickle/Kaylee Glagau (UH) def. Paige Kalkhoff/Giada Bianchi (FIU) 21-14, 18-21, 15-13
2. Roberta Ribeiro/Zuzanna Bielak (FIU) def. Sarah Penner/Kylin Loker (UH) 21-19, 21-17
3. Maidment/Russo (UH) def. Mancinelli/Meyer (FIU) 21-23, 21-16, 17-15
4. Gina Lipscomb/Emma Erteltova (FIU) def. Jaime Santer/Megan Widener (UH) 18-21, 21-19, 15-12
5. Ilihia Huddleston/Riley Wagoner (UH) def. Kendall Mather/Lisa Luini 21-17, 19-21, 15-13
Order of finish: 4, 2, 5, 1, 3
 
USC 5, Hawai'I 0
1. Tina Graudina/Hailey Harward (USC) def. Van Sickle/Glagau (UH) 21-19, 21-14
2. Megan Kraft/Sammy Slater (USC) def. Penner/Loker (UH) 21-13-15
3. Scoles/Maple (USC) def. Maidment/Russo (UH) 19-21, 21-11, 15-13
4. Nicole Nourse/Audrey Nourse (USC) def. Santer/Widener (UH) 21-18, 21-14
5. Mollie Ebertin/Sunny Villapando (USC) def. Huddleston/Wagoner (UH) 21-16, 21-17
Order of finish: 2, 4, 5, 1, 3