IRVINE, Calif.—The University of Hawai'i, water polo team split a pair of matches on the second day of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, finishing with a 15-7 win over Big West rival No. 7 Long Beach State, following an 11-10 overtime loss to No. 4 California in an absolute battle at the Anteaters Aquatics Complex.
 
The Rainbow Wahine (10-2) have played top-25 opponents in all of their first 12 matches to begin the 2023 season, and each of their two losses came against teams ranked above them in the top five.
 
UH will be back in action on Sunday at 8:15 a.m. in the tournament's fifth-place game. The 'Bows will take on the winner of No. 7 Arizona and No. 15 UC Santa Barbara.
 
Match 1- No. 4 Cal 11 No. 5 UH 10 (OT)
 
In what can only be described as an edge-of-your-seat classic, UH gave the Golden Bears all they could handle for 48 minutes straight, falling in their first overtime match.
 
Neither team held a lead of more than two goals as they battled into the fourth and final frame, with UH trailing 6-4. The 'Bows scored four straight goals spanning over six minutes of action from the third to the fourth, taking an 8-6 lead with five minutes left in regulation off a goal by senior Libby Gault.
 
The Golden Bears quickly answered with back-to-back goals within two and a half minutes, bringing the match to its fifth stalemate of the day at 8-8. Both squads tallied another goal before time ran out to force OT. Cal scored their first goal in extra time with five seconds left in the first period, followed by another with just over a minute left in the second period to make it 11-9. UH tried to swing the match back with only a minute left, as sophomore Jordan Wedderburn picked up a goal with 44 seconds on the clock. The clock ended up being another opponent for the 'Bows as time ran out on their comeback efforts.  
 
Wedderburn tallied the fourth three-goal game of her career and her second of the season. Junior Lot Stertefeld picked up two goals of her own while dishing out a career-high four assists. Stertefeld is second on the team in assists with 17 and has recorded two or more dimes in three matches this season.
 
Cal outshot UH .333 to .303, as each squad attempted 33 shots a piece. On top of their shot production, both were .500 on power play attempts.
 
Match 2- No. 5 Hawai'i 15 No. 7 Long Beach State 7
 
The 'Bows didn't show any lingering after-effects from their first match of the day as they took down LBSU, 15-7, just three hours later.
 
UH jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first and never looked back, outscoring the Beach 7-2 in the first half as six different 'Bows notched goals in the first 16 minutes of action. UH controlled the momentum the rest of the way, cruising to their 10^th victory of the season.
 
Freshman Bia Mantellato Dias bounced back after being held scoreless for the first time this season with four goals scored on six shots. Junior Lucia Gomez de la Puente picked up two goals of her own and collected four assists, matching her season-high from three other matches this season.
 
Senior Bridget Layburn was a menace in the cage as she rejected 10 shots by LBSU and swiped away a steal.