HONOLULU — The No. 12 University of Hawai'i beach volleyball team kicked off the Heineken Queen's Cup with a pair of emphatic wins Thursday at Queen's Beach. The BeachBows (2-5) breezed past Nebraska, 4-1, before capping the day with a 5-0 sweep of Boise State.

After hosting the top five teams in the nation in its season-opening tournament, the Rainbow Wahine returned to the sand after a 11-day hiatus and broke into the win column in convincing fashion, dropping just one court of 10 on the day. 

Sunny skies and trade winds greeted the teams on Thursday morning. UH won four of five courts in straight sets with the No. 1 pair of Jaime Santer and Alana Embry particularly dominating in a 21-1, 21-9 rout of Lexi Rodriguez and Lindsay Krause. The Cornhuskers nabbed their lone point at court 3 where Merritt Beason and Skyler Pierce out-lasted the new pairing of Julia Lawrenz and Pani Napoleon 21-19, 15-21, 15-11. Still, UH improved to a perfect 16-0 all-time against the Huskers.  

In the second match of the day, UH and Boise State squared off for the seventh time ever and the 'Bow's remained unblemished all-time against the Broncos. UH took three of the five courts in straight sets, including a hard-earned win at the No. 5 flight where Anna Maidement and Sydney Miller claimed a marathon 28-26 first set, before finishing off Elli Wolthuis and Sharli O'Neil, 21-18 in the second set. Lawrenz and Napoleon also rebounded from their setback earlier in the day with a three-set victory over Emilia Guerra-Acuña and Ava Anderson. 

The Heineken Queens Cup tourney resumes on Friday morning, with the Rainbow Wahine slated to begin play at 9:00 a.m. against Saint Mary's. The 'Bows then closes out round-robin action versus  Pepperdine at 12;45 p.m. The three-day tournament concludes Saturday with the championship bracket play. 

Hawai'i 4 Nebraska  1
1. Santer/Embry (UH) def. Rodriguez/Krause (NEB) 21-10, 21-9
2. Kaylee Glagau/Julia Thelle (UH) def. Ally Batenhorst/Bergen Reilly (NEB) 21-15, 27-25
3. Beason/Pierce (NEB) def. Lawrenz/Napoleon (UH) 21-19, 15-21, 15-11
4. Riley Wagoner/Sydney Amiatu (UH) def. Laney Choboy/Harper Murray (NEB) 21-18, 21-16
5. Anna Maidment/Sydney Miller (UH) def. Olivia Mauch/Andi Jackson (NEB) 21-11, 21-19
Order of finish: 1,5,4,2,3

Hawai'i 5, Boise State 0
1. Santer/Embry (UH) def. Marlayna Bullington/Sierra Land (BSU) 21-13, 17-21, 15-12
2. Glagau/Thelle (UH) def. Rorianna Chartier/Lily Patock (BSU) 21-15, 21-16
3. Lawrenz/Napoleon (UH) def. Emilia Guerra-Acuña/Ava Anderson (BSU) 21-11, 19-21, 15-13
4. Wagoner/Amiatu (UH) def. Mya Jackson/Addison Wolden (BSU) 21-19, 21-12
5. Maidment/Miller (UH) def. Elli Wolthuis/Sharli O'Neil (BSU) 28-26, 21-18
Order of finish: 4,2,5,3,1

Thursday's Results
Hawai'i 4 Nebraska 1
Saint Mary's 3 Boise State 2
Pepperdine 5 Chaminade 0
Hawai'i 5 Boise State 0
Saint Mary's 5 Chaminade 0
Pepperdine 4 Nebraska 1

Friday's Matches
Hawai'i vs. Saint Mary's.......................9:00 a.m.
Boise State vs. Pepperdine................10:15 a.m.
Chaminade vs. Nebraska................11:30 a.m.
Hawai'i vs. Pepperdine.......................12:45 p.m.
Nebraska vs. Saint Mary's.............. …..2:00 p.m.
Boise State vs. Chaminade....................3:15 p.m.