The University of Hawai’i beach volleyball team, ranked 12th nationally, began the Heineken Queen’s Cup with two convincing victories at Queen’s Beach on Thursday. The Rainbow Wahine defeated both Concordia-Irvine and Chaminade by a score of 5-0.
After nearly two weeks without competition, the Rainbow Wahine (3-4) showed no signs of slowing down. Their first match resulted in a sweep against Concordia Irvine, with four out of five matches won in straight sets. The top pairing, Julia Lawrenz and Izadora Stedile, faced a close contest against Olivia Medina and Aliyah Moore but secured the win after three sets: “However after each pair took a set by a 21-18 count, the Brazilian duo showed their superiority by racing to a 15-10 clinching win in set three.”
Sarah Burton and Caprice Lorenzo returned to play following an absence at the end of the Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic. They recorded a 21-11, 21-17 victory over Gabrielle Reinking and Lexi Godbey.
In their second match of the day, Hawai’i quickly overcame Chaminade in under 40 minutes, winning all ten sets across five courts. On court No. 4, Allison Panter and Tabby Allen challenged Sydney Miller and Emily Heintzelman with a close first set at 21-19 before Miller and Heintzelman pulled away for a decisive second set win at 21-5.
Ayva Moi and Jesse Mann made their season debut as partners in the No. 5 flight during this match. The sophomore-senior pair won convincingly against Aliya Hofherr-Sander and DeLaney Poling with scores of 21-4 and 21-9.
The Rainbow Wahine are scheduled to continue tournament play on Friday against Saint Mary’s at 9:45 am followed by San Jose State at 12:15 pm.
Thursday’s other results included Pepperdine defeating UNCW (4-1), SMC beating SJSU (4-1), CUI overcoming Chaminade (5-0), Pepperdine shutting out SJSU (5-0), SMC edging UNCW (3-2), and UH topping Chaminade (5-0). Friday’s schedule features several more matches including UH versus Saint Mary’s in the morning.
“However after each pair took a set by a 21-18 count, the Brazilian duo showed their superiority by racing to a 15-10 clinching win in set three.”
