HONOLULU – The No. 8 University of Hawai'i beach volleyball team will play its final regular-season home matches of 2023 when it hosts No. 20 Arizona and No. 14 Georgia State  in double round-robin action April 15-16 at the Clarence T.C Ching Complex. The matches are open to fans with free admission.
 
UH's final match of the weekend on Sunday, April 16 at 6:30 p.m. versus Arizona will be telecast live on Spectrum Sports. Following that match, Rainbow Wahine players Chandler Cowell, Ilihia Huddleston, Lea Kruse, Kylin Loker, Sofia Russo and Brooke Van Sickle will be honored as part of Senior Night festivities.
 
UH (22-6) is back home after playing its last 11 dual matches on the mainland over two weekends. The BeachBows went 8-3  during the trip, while playing six ranked teams, including three of the top five teams in the nation. Among the wins was a 4-1 decision over then-No. 11 Georgia State in the East Meets West Invitational in Manhattan Beach on March 31. It was the first-ever meeting between the teams and the teams will run it back two more times this week.

The BeachBows will host their final regular-season home matches at Ching, but still have matches left in Honolulu as the team will host the Big West Championship, April 21-22 at Queen's Beach.
 
This Week's Schedule
Clarence T.C. Ching Complex
Saturday, April 15
#20 Arizona vs. #14 Georgia State...…….....8:00 a.m. HT
#8 Hawai'i vs. #20 Arizona........................10:15 a.m. HT
#8 Hawai'i vs. #14 Georgia State..................12:30 p.m. HT
 
Sunday, April 16
#8 Hawai'i vs. #14 Georgia State........12:00 p.m. HT
#11 Georgia State vs. #20 Arizona........2:30 p.m. HT
#8 Hawai'i vs. #20 Arizona...……..........6:30 p.m. HT (Spectrum Sports)
 
BeachBow Seniors: Six Rainbow Wahine will be making their final regular-season home appearances this weekend.

Chandler Cowell (Kula, Maui) joined the team as a graduate transfer this past year after a indoor and beach career at Saint Mary's in California …has played in 20 matches this season…has won a stellar 80 percent (16-4) of her matches at the No. 5 flight…was named Big West Pair of the Week in the second weekend of the season with partner Sydney Miller…will earn a master's degree from UH in communications. 

Ilihia Huddleston (Oceanside, Calif.) is in her fourth year in the program and will not use her COVID season after  being on track to graduate later this year…first arrived on campus as a freshman in 2020…has been a starter all four years and has won more than 70 percent of her matches in more than 100 played…ranks in the top 10 in career dual wins (71)...has earned all-Big West recognition twice, including first-team honors in 2021…will graduate this year with a degree in Hawaiian Studies.  

Lea Kruse (Quarnbek, Germany) is in her third full season with the BeachBows…has seen her most action this year, appearing in 14 of UH's 28 matches…has a 16-11 career mark while playing at four different flights…one of her biggest win came in the 2022 season with a three-set win against second-ranked UCLA….gained her undergraduate degree in psychology last spring and will earn her master's degree in educational psychology in May.

Kylin Loker (Carlsbad, Calif.), along with Sofia Russo, is the most veteran of the seniors having joined the program in 2019…was  named to the 2019 NCAA All Tournament team as a true freshman…has appeared in 129 career matches, more than any other current BeachBow…ranks in the top 10 in career dual wins (72)...twice named all-Big West honorable mention…will graduate this spring with a degree in geography.

Sofia Russo (Cherry Hill, N.J.) joins Loker as the most experienced of the BeachBows, playing her fifth season at UH…like Loker was a starter as a true freshman on UH's 2019 NCAA Tournament team and earned the clinching point in UH's win over Stetson…ranks in the top 10 all-time at UH in dual wins with 71…a three-time all-Big West honoree, including first-team honors last year… graduates this spring with a degree in physics.

Brooke Van Sickle (Battle Ground, Wash.)…one of only two players in program history to earn All-America honors in both indoor and beach volleyball in the same academic year…two-time all-Big West first-team selection and the 2022 Big West Pair of the Year with Kaylee Glagau…ranks fifth all-time at UH in dual wins with 81…will earn a master's degree in marketing  from UH this spring.

All-Time Series Records: The BeachBows are 6-1 all-time against Arizona…this will be the first meeting in Honolulu since 2017…UH won that 2017 match by a 3-2 count...UH's lone loss to Arizona was a 4-1 setback in the 2021 Husky Invitational in Seattle…UH won the first meeting with Georgia State, 4-1, less than two weeks ago in the East Meets West Invitational on March 31 in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
 
All-Time At Ching Complex: UH is 28-10 (.737) all-time at the Ching Complex since starting play there in 2015…the BeachBows are 2-0 this year with wins last month against Nebraska and Texas…UH is 8-10 (.444) all-time against ranked teams at Ching.
 
All-Time Versus Ranked Squads: UH is 93-79 (.525) all-time versus ranked squads, including 7-6 this season….one of the wins has come against this week's opponent, Georgia State...UH is 2-3 against ranked teams at home this year.