LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. -- The No. 9 University of Hawai'i beach volleyball team embarks on its first road trip of the year when it heads to the Best in the West tournament, March 4-5, in Laguna Beach. The Rainbow Wahine will play four matches over the course of two days, against conference rivals Cal Poly and No. 14 Long Beach State (0-2).
 
UH is coming off its six-match season-opening homestand at Queen's Beach. The BeachBows won a trio of matches over the weekend to finish third in Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic. UH defeated Saint Mary's twice and Stephen F. Austin in the first ever meeting between the programs. UH's losses came at the hands of top-ranked UCLA and then-No. 9 Stanford (twice) in a trio of highly competitive matches. 

Long Beach State opened the year with a pair of losses, though they were impressive performances, narrowly losing to No. 4 USC and No. 6 Grand Canyon by identical 3-2 scores. The team's matches versus No. 11 Cal and No. 17 Pepperdene were scratched due to weather. Cal Poly, meanwhile, opened the year in Tallahassee, Fla., where they dropped all four of their matches to No. 19 South Carolina, No. 2 Florida State, Coastal Carolina and No. 16  Florida International.
 
Live streaming and live scoring will be available during the weekend.

Following their weekend in Southern California, the Rainbow Wahine will return home for the Heineken Queen's Cup, March 10-12.  
 
This Week's Schedule
Best of the West (Laguna Beach, Calif.)
March 4
vs. Cal Poly, 10:00 a.m. PT/8:00 am HT
vs. #14 Long Beach State, 3:00 p.m. PT/ 1:00 pm HT
 
March 5
vs. Cal Poly, 12:30 p.m. PT/10:30 am HT
vs. #14 Long Beach State, 3:00 p.m. PT/ 1:00 pm HT
 
All-Time Series Records: UH is 11-10 against Cal Poly, including 7-4 at neutral sites….the Mustangs have won four of the last five meetings including a pair of wins in last year's Big West Championship in San Luis Obispo…the BeachBows have met Long Beach State 28 previous times, more than any other opponent…UH is 20-8 all-time against the Beach, including 11-4 at neutral sites…UH has won four straight against LBSU and won both meetings last year.
 
A Power Pair: Kylin Loker and Riley Wagoner started 2023 with a bang going 5-1 overall in the season-opening Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic while playing at the top two flights…the duo won four of its matches in straight sets and boasted a pair of wins over No. 9 Stanford…the tandem's lone loss came at the hands of No. 1 UCLA's top pair in Lexy Denaburg and Maggie Boyd…Loker and Wagoner went 4-0 at the No. 2 flight and 1-1 at the No. 1 flight. 

Fresh Frosh: A trio of true freshman made their collegiate debuts last weekend and acquitted themselves quite well…Caprice Lorenzo (2-3) and Sarah Burton (0-2) each ended the weekend with losing records but pushed nationally-ranked squads UCLA and Stanford to the limit…meanwhile Sophie Buschmann went 4-2 while being paired exclusively with veteran Ilihia Huddleston at the No. 3, 4 and 5 courts. 

Versus Ranked Squads: UH is 86-73 (.541) all-time versus ranked squads, including 8-15 last year.….UH is 40-35 (.533) all-time versus ranked squads at neutral sites.

Versus Unranked Squads: UH is 115-3 (.975) all-time  vs unranked squads…two of the losses occurred last year…the BeachBows saw a string of 105 straight wins against unranked opponents halted with a 3-2 loss to UC Davis on March 25, 2022 in the Big West Challenge...less than month later, the 'Bows fell at Washington, 3-2, in a match played in driving hail…UH's only other loss against an unranked opponent came to Loyola Marymount, 3-2, on March 23, 2013, on the campus of Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Ariz.