HONOLULU – Under the leadership of new head coach Danny Alvarez, the University of Hawai'i beach volleyball team begins its 2026 campaign with the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic, Feb. 19-21, at Queen's Beach. The very top teams in the country, including six ranked in the top 10, will compete against each other to start off the year. Joining the No. 16 BeachBows are No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 USC, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Loyola Marymount and No. 9 Cal. The teams will play a round-robin format for the entirety of the three-day tournament with seven matches each day.
 
Quick Set
What: Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic
Who: Cal, Hawai'i, LMU, Stanford, Texas, USC, UCLA
When: February 19-21
Where: Queen's Beach – Waikiki
Admission: Free
Live Scoring: HawaiiAthletics.com
 
Schedule
Thursday, February 19
8:30 am……Cal vs. Stanford
9:45 am……UCLA vs. Texas
11:00 am…..Stanford vs. USC
12:15 pm…..Cal vs. LMU
1:30 pm…….UH vs. Texas
2:45 pm…….LMU vs. USC
4:00 pm……UH vs. UCLA

Friday, February 20
8:30 am……Texas vs. Cal
9:45 am…….UH vs. USC
11:00 am……UCLA vs. LMU
12:15 pm……UH vs. Stanford
1:30 pm……..Cal vs. USC
2:45 pm………Stanford vs. UCLA
4:00 pm……….Texas vs. LMU

Saturday, February 21
8:30 am……Texas vs. Stanford
9:45 am…….Cal vs. UCLA
11:00 am……Stanford vs. LMU
12:15 pm……UCLA vs. USC 
1:30 pm……..UH vs. Cal
2:45 pm…….Texas vs. USC
4:00 pm…….UH vs. LMU

The Squad: UH's roster totals 19 players…the BeachBows return 12 players from last year's team that went 14-21 overall and placed No. 19 in the final AVCA rankings…headlining the returnees are 2025 all-Big West selections Sarah Burton and Caprice Lorenzo…other key returnees include previous all-conference players Sydney Amiatu, Sydney Miller and Julia Lawrenz and the return of a healthy Julia Thelle…UH welcome seven newcomers to the the squad led by mid-year transfer Izadora Stedile who was an All-American indoor player at Hofstra, and Kiera Cornman, the 2024 New York State Gatorade Player of the Year…UH's diverse roster includes players from Australia, Brazil, Guam, and Norway as well as five different U.S. states (Arizona, California, Colorado, New York and Texas)...UH was picked third in the preseason Big West poll, behind Cal Poly and Long Beach State.
 
The Skipper: Danny Alvarez enters his first year as head coach and 10th season overall in the program…Alvarez, who boasts three decades of coaching experience, previously served as an assistant for the BeachBows from 2012-19, as well as during the 2023 campaign…Alvarez was instrumental in building the foundation for the fledgling Rainbow Wahine program and quickly developing the 'Bows into a national contender...what followed was six straight national tournament appearances, three Big West titles, and the program's first No. 1 ranking during the 2015 season…he also helped UH to an NCAA appearance in 2023…UH also welcomes back second-year assistants Victoria Prince and Lea Kruse….Prince, a former indoor All-American with the Rainbow Wahine who went on to play on the AVP, led Oaks Christian High School in California to a No. 5 Max Preps national ranking in 2023…Kruse, who served as a volunteer assistant in 2024, played three seasons for the BeachBows and was part of the 2023 NCAA squad. 
 
The Schedule: The OUTRIGGER Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic is one of two events in the first three weeks that UH will host at Queen's Beach...the 'Bows will also hold the Heineken Queen's Cup, March 5-7 …UH's third and final home event sees them host Chaminade, Santa Clara and Oregon during Senior Weekend (April 11-12) on campus at the Ching Complex…the BeachBows will compete in three other tournaments – two in California and one in Arizona…this year's Big West Championship will be held April 23-24 at Cal Poly, while the 2026 NCAA Championships is in Gulf Shores, Ala., May 1-3.

All-Time Series Records: UH is 3-19 all-time against USC, including seven straight losses…the teams have met 11 times in Honolulu with USC winning nine times…UH and Cal have met 10 previous times with the series split, 5-5…the Golden Bears have won the last three meetings, including a pair of wins in last season's Senior Weekend…UH is 6-18 versus UCLA and has dropped the last 15 meetings...UCLA has opened the season eight of the last nine years in Honolulu and UH is 2-10 against them at home…UH is 10-6 versus Stanford, including 7-5 in Honolulu…like UCLA, this is the  eighth time in the last nine seasons the Cardinal open the season in Hawai'i...UH is 12-7 all-time against LMU, including a 9-2 mark in Honolulu… the Lions  have won the last six meetings and ended UH's season in each of the last three NCAA Tournament appearances for UH (last in 2024)…UH is 3-1 all-time against Texas, including a pair of wins in Honolulu in 2023…the Longhorns won the last meeting, 4-1, in the 2025 East Meets West Invitational.