HONOLULU  – The No. 8 University of Hawai'i beach volleyball kicked off its final home weekend of the 2022 season by splitting a pair of matches against top-10 teams Saturday at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex. The Rainbow Wahine fell to No. 7 Grand Canyon, 3-2, before bouncing back with a big 3-2 win over No. 6 Loyola Marymount.
 
In the first match of the day, Grand Canyon got by Hawai'i, 3-2. All five courts were finished in straight sets. The Lopes took the first point of the dual at the No. 5 court and from there the teams traded blows. The UH pair of Brooke Van Sickle and Kaylee Glagau tied the match, 2-2, with their 20th win of the season. But GCU (17-5) shortly after closed out the dual as Ali Hansen and Allanis Navas swept past Sarah Penner and Kylin Loker, 21-15, 21-13. A UH milestone was reached in the match as the pair of Anna Maidment of Sofia Russo picked up their 35th win together, tying the school record for career dual match wins by a pair, held by two other UH duos.
 
In the second match, UH (18-11) handed LMU just its fourth loss in 24 matches this season. UH did so with determination and grit. UH won the first point of the dual at the No. 5 court with a three-set win by Ilihia Huddleston and Riley Wagoner, then later knotted the dual at 2-2 with another win by Glagau and Van Sickle at the top flight. It came down to the No. 2 court where Loker and Penner faced LMU's Marine Kinna and Avery Poppinga. The UH pair redeemed themselves from the day's earlier match versus GCU, reaching deep down to pull off a match-clinching 25-23, 21-17 win.
 
The teams will return to action on Sunday with another day of round-robin action at the Ching Complex. LMU and GCU will start the day off at 10 a.m., followed by UH versus LMU at 1 p.m. In the nightcap, Hawai'i and Grand Canyon will conclude the weekend with a 5 p.m. match televised live on Spectrum Sports.
 

Grand Canyon 3, Hawai'I 2
1. Van Sickle/Glagau (UH) def. Anaya Evans/Jess Vastine (GCU) 21-15, 21-12
2. Hansen/Navas (GCU) def. Penner/Loker (UH) 21-15, 21-13
3. Maidment/Russo (UH) def. Tegan DeFalco/Samaya Morin (GCU) 21-14, 21-16
4. Abbie Hughes/Krista Rown (GCU) def. Jaime Santer/Megan Widener (UH) 21-19, 21-19
5. Cami Sanchez/Dana Roskic (GCU) def. Huddleston/Wagoner (UH) 22-20, 21-15
Order of finish: 5, 3, 4, 1, 2
 
Hawai'I 3 LMU 2
1. Van Sickle/Glagau (UH) def. Reka Orsi-Toth/Megan Rice (LMU) 21-14, 22-20
2. Penner/Loker (UH) def. Kinna/Poppinga (LMU) 25-23, 21-17
3. Macy Gordon/Vilhelmiina Phriti (LMU) def. Maidment/Russo (UH) 21-17, 21-16
4. Isabelle Reffel/Jacinda Ramirez (LMU) def. Santer/Widener (UH) 20-22, 24-22, 16-14
5. Huddleston/Wagoner (UH) def. Madi Firnett/Cassie Chinn (LMU) 19-21, 21-17, 15-12
Order of finish: 5, 3, 4, 1, 2