HONOLULU – The 16th-ranked University of Hawai'i beach volleyball team wrapped up the final day of the OUTRIGGER Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic on a wet and soggy Saturday at Queen's Beach with a 3-0 loss to No. 9 Cal.
Inclement weather pushed back the start of the day's action by nearly four hours. That forced an abbreviated schedule which included playing each match to a decision and the cancellation of the final two matches of the tournament, including the weekend finale of UH versus LMU.
UH finished the tournament going 1-4 against the top nine teams in the country and were extremely competitive throughout the weekend under the tutelage of first-year head coach Danny Alvarez. It was a weekend highlighted by the team's 3-2 upset over No. 1 UCLA on the opening day.
The short-handed 'Bows showed more of that competitive grit against the Golden Bears on Saturday, extending Cal to three sets on a trio of courts, before ultimately succumbing.
With UH's top pair of Sarah Burton and Caprice Lorenzo sidelined, the lineup shifted. UH saw the season debut of Sydney Amiatu and Jesse Mann who slid into the No. 5 flight. The duo fell to Elle Evers and Savanna Lau, 21-19, 21-14, as Cal took the first point of the dual. The Golden Bears took court 4 as well in straight sets to go up 2-0.
But the outcome was still up in the air as the final three courts were ultra-competitive with each going to a third set. The Bears though ultimately clinched the dual at Court 2 as Gia Fisher and Ava Haughy rallied past Julia Thelle and Sophie Buschmann, 17-21, 21-16, 15-8.
Standford claimed the tournament title after going 5-1 over the weekend.
The Rainbow Wahine will have a bye this weekend before returning to Queen's Beach for the Heineken Queen's Cup, March 5-7, another round-robin tournament in which the 'Bows will face a half-dozen quality squads.
Cal 3 Hawai'i 0
1. Julia Lawrenz/Izadora Stedile (UH) vs. Emma Donley/Portia Sherman (Cal) 21-18, 14-21, 6-9, unfinished
2. Fisher/Haughy (Cal) def. Thelle/Buschmann (UH) 17-21, 21-16, 15-8
3. Emily Heintzelman/Sydney Miller (UH) vs. Amelia Vugrincic/Jenna Colligan (Cal) 16-21, 21-16, 10-7, unfinished
4. Grace Hong/Marilu Pally (Cal) def. Kristen Serrano/Kiera Cornman (UH) 21-19, 21-19
5. Evers/Lau (Cal) def. Amiatu/Mann (UH), 21-17, 21-14
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3*
Saturday's Results
Stanford 3, Texas 2
UCLA 3, USC 1
Stanford 3, LMU 0
UH 3, Cal 0
Texas 3, USC 2
Individual Awards
Best Pair: Zoey Henson/Sarah Wood, USC
Best Attacker: Avery Jackson, Stanford
Best Defender: Portia Sherman, Cal
Aloha Spirit: Alexa Fernandez, UCLA
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