BeachBows Capture Pool, Advance To Big West Semifinals

LONG BEACH, Cailf. — The University of Hawai'i beach volleyball team made a resounding statement on the opening day of the Big West Championship Thursday on the campus of Long Beach City College. The Rainbow Wahine swept CSU Bakersfield, 5-0, and took down Long Beach State, 4-1, to capture its pool and earn a spot in Friday's tournament semifinals.

In a revamped Big West tournament format, UH's 2-0 performance in Pool A gave the BeachBows (22-11) an automatic spot in tomorrow's single-elimination semifinal match at 9:15 a.m. HT. UH, winners of six straight matches, will face either No. 4 seed UC Davis or No. 6 seed CSU Bakersfield for a spot in the finals.

The 'Bows started the day with a 5-0 sweep of CSU Bakersfield. UH picked up straight set wins on Courts 4 and 5 to take a 2-0 lead, including a victory by Sarah Burton and Caprice Lorenzo, who replaced a sidelined Julia Thelle in the starting lineup . However the Roadrunners extended UH to three sets at the top three courts. The 'Bows needed one of the three courts to take the dual. UH ended up taking all three and won the third set in convincing fashion on Court 1 (15-7 by Jaime Santer and Alana Embry) and Court 3 (15-9 by Sydney Miller and Anna Maidment).

Meanwhile, at the No. 2 flight Kaylee Glagau and Pani Napoleon closed out their match with a 15-12 set 3 win. It was a milestone victory for Glagau who notched her 100th career dual match victory. She became just the third Rainbow Wahine to hit the century mark in dual wins, joining Ari Homayun (115) and fellow Canadian Emily Maglio (108).

The second match paired UH up with No. 2 seed and host Long Beach State. The 'Bows clipped the Beach, 3-2, earlier this year and once again got the better of them, this time with more authority. UH claimed the first four points of the match with three of them coming in straight sets. Riley Wagoner and Sydney Amiatu got UH on the board first with a 21-18-21 win over Haley Carrington and Christine Deroos at the No. 4 flight. Napoleon and Glagau followed suit with a straight set win at Court 2, while Embry and Satner sealed the clinching point just moments later with a 21-18, 21-17 win over Malia Gementera and Taylor Hagenah. The 'Bows have now defeated the Beach in nine of the last 10 meetings.

Top seeded Cal Poly captured Pool B with wins over CSUN and UC Davis and earned a spot in the other semifinal matchup the will precede UH's tomorrow morning.

Hawai'i 5 CSU Bakersfield 0
1. Santer/Embry (UH) def. Katey Milne/Isabella Almeida (CSUB) 21-11, 19-21, 15-7
2. Glagau/Napoleon (UH) def. Vivi Kaelin/Ella Erteltova (CSUB) 17-21, 21-17, 15-12
3. Madiment/Miller (UH) Ava Palm/Olivia Silacci-Jense (CSUB) 19-21, 23-21, 15-9
4. Wagoner/Amiatu(UH) def. Ella Ensign/Kaia Fanshier (CSUB) 21-17, 21-18
5. Burton/Lorenzo (UH) def. Megan Gilbert/Pearl Moore (CSUB) 21-18, 21-19
Order of finish: 5, 4, 1, 2, 3

Hawai'i 4, Long Beach State 1
1. Santer/Embry (UH) def. Gementera/Hagenah (LBSU) 21-18, 21-17
2. Glagau/Napoleon (UH) def. Julia Westby/Savannah Standage (LBSU) 21-15, 21-19
3. Natalie Glenn/Mo Gibson (LBSU) def. Madiment/Miller (UH) 17-21, 21-19, 15-11
4. Wagoner/Amiatu(UH) def. Carrington/Deroos (LBSU) 21-18, 21-17
5. Burton/Lorenzo (UH) def. Megan Widener /Livi Narancich (LBSU) 21-19, 20-22, 15-11
Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 5, 3

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Players Mentioned

#14 Sydney Amiatu: 5' 9"; Redshirt Freshman

#21 Sarah Burton: 6' 1"; Sophomore

#7 Kaylee Glagau: 6' 2"; Senior

#24 Caprice Lorenzo: 5' 9"; Sophomore

#6 Anna Maidment: 5' 11"; Senior

#11 Sydney Miller: 6' 0"; Sophomore

#1 Jaime Santer: 6' 1"; Senior

#10 Riley Wagoner: 6' 0"; Senior

#34 Pani Napoleon: 5' 7"; Graduate Student

#8 Alana Embry: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#14 Sydney Amiatu
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Freshman

#21 Sarah Burton
: 6' 1"; Sophomore

#7 Kaylee Glagau
: 6' 2"; Senior

#24 Caprice Lorenzo
: 5' 9"; Sophomore

#6 Anna Maidment
: 5' 11"; Senior

#11 Sydney Miller
: 6' 0"; Sophomore

#1 Jaime Santer
: 6' 1"; Senior

#10 Riley Wagoner
: 6' 0"; Senior

#34 Pani Napoleon
: 5' 7"; Graduate Student

#8 Alana Embry
: 5' 9"; Sophomore