BeachBows Split on Opening Day of East Meets West Invitational

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. — The No. 18 University of Hawai'i beach volleyball team began its first road trip of the season by splitting a pair of matches on day one of the East Meets West Invitational at the Manhattan Beach Pier. The Rainbow Wahine defeated No. 19 Florida International, 4-1, before falling to No. 8 Florida State, 4-1.

In their first road matches of the season, UH played through cold and wet conditions in Southern California. In their opening match of the tournament, UH soundly defeated FIU, winning four of five courts in straight sets. In the process, the BeachBows picked up its first win over a ranked team this year, while improving to 7-1 all-time against FIU.

The duo of Sydney Amiatu and Sydney Miller got UH's first point of the match at the expense of a former teammate Arianna Franklin and her FIU teammate Ola Chudzik with a 21-14, 21-18 victory at the No. 4 court. Meanwhile, Alana Embry and Julia Lawrenz captured their sixth straight win as a duo. The 'Bows nearly completed its second straight sweep, but Sofie Vogel and Ella Gray salvaged the Panther's lone point by outlasting Sarah Burton and Caprice Lorenzo, 21-17, 17-21, 15-13, at the top of the order.

In the second match of the day, the Rainbow Wahine couldn't keep up with 8th-ranked Florida State, which has won the last six meetings between the teams, five of them coming in the East Meets West. The Seminoles rolled on four of five courts, though Miller and Amiatu went out swinging in a 26-24 Set 2 loss to Bailey Higgins and Carra Sassack. The duo of Jesse Mann and Jasmine Wandeler continued their stellar play with a 24-22, 21-18 win over Kyleene Filimaua and McKenna Flaherty to prevent the FSU shutout. The pair has now won seven of their last eight matches.

The Rainbow Wahine will play the second day of the East Meets West Invitational on Saturday when they face off against No. 11 LSU at 12:30 pm. PT/9:30 am HT and No. 12 Texas at 3:00 p.m. PT/12:00 p.m. HT.

Hawai'i 4 Florida International 1
1. Vogel/Gray (FIU) def. Burton/Lorenzo (UH), 21-17, 17-21, 15-13
2. Embry/Lawrenz (UH) def. Julia Panko/Maria Sanchez (FIU) 21-18, 23-21
3. Mann/Wandeler (UH) def. Katarina Drodz/Brianna Luoma (FIU) 21-16, 22-20
4. Amiatu/Miller def. Chudzik/Franklin (FIU) 21-16, 21-17
5. Kristen Serrano/Sophie Buschmann (UH) def. Zoe Cahill/Kendra Brown (FIU) 21-17, 23-21
Order of finish: 4, 2, 3, 5, 1

Florida State 4 Hawai'i 1
1. Alexis Durish/Audrey Koenig (FSU) def. Embry/Lawrenz (UH) 21-6, 21-11
2. Gella Andrew/Maddie Trusty (FSU) def. Burton/Lorenzo (UH) 21-14, 21-14
3. Mann/Wandeler (UH) def. Kyleene Filimaua/McKenna Flaherty (FIU) 24-22
4. Bailey Higgins/Carra Sassack (FSU) def. Amiatu/Miller 21-10, 26-24, 21-18
5. Makenna Wolfe/Myriah Massey (FSU) def. Serrano/Buschmann (UH) 21-17, 21-12
Order of finish: 2, 4, 5, 1, 3

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Players Mentioned

#25 Arianna Franklin: 5' 7"; Sophomore

#14 Sydney Amiatu: 5' 10"; Sophomore

#21 Sarah Burton: 6' 0"; Junior

#44 Sophie Buschmann: 5' 11"; Sophomore

#8 Alana Embry: 5' 9"; Junior

#3 Julia Lawrenz: 6' 1"; Junior

#24 Caprice Lorenzo: 5' 9"; Junior

#9 Jesse Mann: 5' 11"; Junior

#11 Sydney Miller: 6' 0"; Junior

#0 Kristen Serrano: 5' 9"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#25 Arianna Franklin
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

#14 Sydney Amiatu
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

#21 Sarah Burton
: 6' 0"; Junior

#44 Sophie Buschmann
: 5' 11"; Sophomore

#8 Alana Embry
: 5' 9"; Junior

#3 Julia Lawrenz
: 6' 1"; Junior

#24 Caprice Lorenzo
: 5' 9"; Junior

#9 Jesse Mann
: 5' 11"; Junior

#11 Sydney Miller
: 6' 0"; Junior

#0 Kristen Serrano
: 5' 9"; Junior