LONG BEACH, Calif. — The No. 13 University of Hawai'i beach volleyball team split a pair of matches on day one of the Big West Challenge at Rosie's Dog Beach in Long Beach, Calif. The Rainbow Wahine (8-9) took down Sacramento State 4-1 in the opening match of the tournament, before falling to No. 11 Long Beach State 4-1 on Friday morning.

The BeachBows got back in the win column with a 4-1 win over Sacramento State to open up the Big West Challenge. The Rainbow Wahine raced out of the gates, grabbing three quick straight-set wins to clinch the dual. Julia Lawrenz and Izadora Stedile took down Hornets pair Reese Ampi and Ashlynn Archer 21-7, 21-13 at court one, while Sydney Miller and Caprice Lorenzo (21-13, 21-12) and Sydney Amiatu and Sophie Buschmann (21-10, 21-15) quickly followed suit at courts three and four. After dropping the opening set 21-17 at court five, Emily Heintzelman and Kiera Cornman battled back to take set two 21-17 before sealing the deal 15-9 in set three. UH came one court short of a sweep as Sacramento State duo Victoria Marthaler and Aurora Bibolotti took court two 22-20, 14-21, 16-14 to prevent the sweep. UH improved to 9-0 all-time against the Hornets.
 
In the second match of the day, the BeachBows fell to the Beach in a loss that saw four of five courts extended to a a third set. UHtook an early lead with a straight-set victory at court one. Lawrenz and Stedile continued their strong season, winning 21-17, 21-18 against the Beach to improve to 12-4 as a pair this season (10-3 at the top flight).

Long Beach State, however, brushed off the early deficit, taking the rest of the courts in three sets to complete the comeback victory. UH held set one leads at courts two and five 22-20 and 21-19, but later fell in the third set at both courts 15-8 and 17-15. The 'Bows came back to tie up courts three and four after dropping the first set, but couldn't finish the comeback in set three as the Beach claimed court three and court four 15-10 and 15-9. UH still leads LBSU 26-12 all-time, but the Beach have claimed three straight victories against the Rainbow Wahine.

The BeachBows will commence day two of the three-day Big West Challenge with matches vs. No. 3 Cal Poly (10:50 am HT) and CSU Bakersfield (1:10 pm HT) on Saturday.
 
Hawai'i 4 Sacramento State 1
1. Lawrenz/Stedile (UH) def. Ampi/Archer (SAC) 21-7, 21-13
2. Marthaler/Bibolotti (SAC) def. Julia Thelle/Sarah Burton (UH) 22-20, 14-21, 16-14
3. Miller/Lorenzo (UH) def. Kate Doorn/Mia Guevara (SAC) 21-13, 21-12
4. Amiatu/Buschmann (UH) def. Karlie Spohn/Greta Davis (SAC) 21-10, 21-15
5. Heintzelman/Cornman (UH) def. Skyler Gartin/Keonahi'ila Solaita (SAC) 17-21, 21-17, 15-9
Order of finish: 1, 3, 4, 5, 2

#11 Long Beach State 4 #13 Hawai'i 1  
1. Lawrenz/Stedile (UH) def. Malia Gementera/Taylor Hagenah (LBSU) 21-7, 21-18
2. Tineke Hinton/Demi Wagdy (LBSU) def. Miller/Lorenzo (UH) 20-22, 21-18, 15-8
3. Kiara Edwards/Savannah Standage (LBSU) def. Kate Doorn/Mia Guevara (UH) 21-12, 23-2, 15-10
4. Victoria Henkel/Mahala Esser (LBSU) def. Amiatu/Buschmann (UH) 21-17, 18-21, 15-9
5. Kealoha Phillips/Brooke Birch (LBSU) def. Heintzelman/Cornman (UH) 19-21, 21-13, 17-15
Order of finish: 1, 5, 4, 3, 2