BeachBows Defeat Concordia, Fall To No. 1 USC

LOS ANGELES — The No. 12 University of Hawai’i beach volleyball team continued its stretch of 12 straight contests on the mainland with a pair of matches Tuesday afternoon at Merle Norman Stadium on the campus of USC. The Rainbow Wahine (9-8) defeated Concordia University Irvine, 4-1, before falling to top-ranked USC, 5-0.

The visit to Merle Norman Stadium was just UH’s second ever and the fist since 2013. In the first match of the day, the BeachBows faced Concordia University Irvine in the inaugural meeting between the teams. The Eagles came into the match with a 13-4 mark, including a trio of wins already over Big West squads. CUI gave UH a competitive run, including taking a point at court No. 2. But the ‘Bows ultimately took four of five courts. Three of those points came in straight sets, including resounding wins by the No. 3 pair of Julia Lawrenz and Pani Napoleon (21-12, 21-14) and the No. 4 pair of Riley Wagoner and Sydney Amiatu (21-14, 21-11). 

In backend of the doubleheader, the ‘Bows faced host USC. It was the second time this year the teams met with the Women of Troy picking a 5-0 decision over the BeachBows last month in Honolulu during the season opening Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic. The end result this time around was the same with a USC shutout. However, UH came close to snatching a point, when Wagoner and Amiatu gave Ashley Pater and Madison White all they could handle before falling in three sets, 26-28, 21-19, 15-11. UH dropped to 3-17 all-time against USC with its fifth straight loss in the series.

The Rainbow Wahine next travel to Northern California to round out its opening road trip of the road season with the BIg West Challenge, March 22-24. The ‘Bows will play two matches a day for three straight days against their league rivals on the campuses of UC Davis and Sacramento State. 

Hawai’i 4 CUI 1
1. Jaime Santer/Alana Embry (UH) def. Kali Uhl/Kelissa Lemoine (CUI) 21-19, 21-17
2. Sara Ostojic/Tatum Smith (CUI) def. Julia Thelle/Kaylee Glagau (UH) 21-17, 21-16
3. Lawrenz/Napoleon (UH) def. Korah Nordin/True McCullough (CUI) 21-12, 21-14
4. Wagoner/Amiatu (HI) def. Eva Prewitt/Ashleigh Souza (CUI) 21-14, 21-11
5. Anna Maidment/Sydney Miller (UH) def. Jordyn Nichols/Kelia Giusta (CUI) 21-13, 19-21, 15-10
Order of finish: 4, 2, 3, 5, 1

USC 5 Hawai’i 0 
1. Laynie Maple/Megan Kraft (USC) Santer/Embry (UH), 21-18, 21-14 
2. Grace Seits/Maddi Kriz (USC) def. Thelle/Glagau (UH) 21-12, 21-17
3. Audrey Nourse/Nicole Nourse (USC) Lawrenz/Napoleon (UH), 21-14, 21-16
4. Pater/White (USC) def. Wagoner/Amiatu (UH) 26-28, 21-19, 15-11
5. Mabyn Thomas/Ainsley Radell (USC) def. Sarah Burton/Caprice Lorenzo (UH) 21-16, 21-16
Order of finish: 2, 4, 5, 1, 3
 

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