MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. — The No. 13 University of Hawai'i beach volleyball team split a pair of matches to open the East Meets West Invitational at the Manhattan Beach Pier on Friday. The Rainbow Wahine (7-6) fell to No. 5 Texas 5-0 in their first match, before taking down Florida International 4-1 in the final match of the day to open up their first road trip of the season.

UH opened the tournament with a loss to Texas in the second meeting between the two teams this season. The BeachBows battled to a 3-2 loss in the first matchup at the OUTRIGGER Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic on Feb. 19, but the second matchup was all Texas. The Longhorns raced out to a 4-0 lead on straight-set victories at courts two, three, four, and five. Julia Lawrenz and Izadora Stedile dropped the first set at court one 21-16, but battled back with a 21-13 win in set two. Texas duo Brecht Piersma and Katie Hashman came back to take set three 15-10 and seal the sweep. With the win, Texas ties up the all-time series against UH at 3-3, with three straight victories.
 
The BeachBows got back on track in the second game. Sydney Miller and Caprice Lorenzo got things started with a quick 21-16, 21-12 win at court four. Sydney Amiatu and Sarah Burton outlasted FIU pair Madalyn Wade and Nicole Robison in set one 28-26, before quickly dispatching the Panthers duo 21-8 for another dual point at court 2. FIU took back a point at court three to keep their chances alive, but Emily Heintzelman and Kiera Cornman's 21-17, 21-14 victory at court five clinched the dual win for UH. Lawrenz and Stedile took care of business on court one 21-16, 21-16 to wrap up the match.

The Rainbow Wahine will take on a pair of ranked opponents on day two of the East Meets West Invitational on Saturday, with matchups against No. 12 LSU at 7:30 a.m. HT/10:30 a.m. PT and No. 8 Arizona State at 11:30 a.m. HT/2:30 p.m. PT.

Texas 5, Hawai'i 0
1. Piersma/ Hashman (TEX) def. Lawrenz/ Stedile (UH), 21-16, 13-21, 15-10
2. Anna Pavelkova/Kacka Pavelkova (TEX) def. Julia Thelle/ Sophie Buschmann (UH) 21-18, 21-14
3. Emma Grace Robertson/Lily Davis (TEX) def. Miller/ Lorenzo (UH) 21-18, 21-17
4. Chloe Charles/Macey Butler (TEX) def. Heintzelman/Cornman (UH) 21-17, 21-15
5. Noe Sonneville/Karin Zolnercikova (TEX) def. Kristen Serrano/ Jesse Mann (UH) 22-20, 21-15
Order of finish: 2, 4, 3, 5, 1

Hawai'i 4 Florida International 1
1. Lawrenz/Stedile (UH) def. Katarina Drozd/Brianna Luoma (FIU) 21-16, 21-16
2. Amiatu/Burton (UH) def. Wade/Robison (FIU) 28-26, 21-8
3. Isabella Pereira/Kendra Brown (FIU) def. Thelle/ Buschmann (UH) 21-18, 21-19
4. Miller/ Lorenzo (UH) def. Nikelle Lander/Hailey Prodan (FIU) 21-16, 21-12
5. Heintzelman/Cornman (UH) def. Elizabeth Nye/Sarah Boyle (FIU) 21-17, 21-14
Order of finish: 4, 2, 3, 5, 1