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Punahou alumna Ilima-Lei Macfarlane will put her undefeated record on the line against Jessica Middleton in a flyweight co-main event of Bellator 178 on April 21 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., the organization announced Monday.
Macfarlane (5-0) last won a unanimous decision against Emily Ducote in December and is 4-0 in the Bellator cage with two submissions.
Middleton is 2-0 with two unanimous decisions in Bellator since turning pro last year.
The only other fight announced for the card is a featherweight title bout between Patricio Freire and champion Daniel Straus.
Rainbow Warriors remain No. 4 in poll
The University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team retained its No. 4 ranking in the AVCA Division I-II Men’s Volleyball Poll announced Monday.
Ohio State (23-1, 12-0 MIVA) reclaimed its No. 1 ranking after No. 2 Long Beach State (22-3, 15-2 MPSF) fell to No. 3 BYU (21-3, 14-2 MPSF) in five sets on Friday.
The Rainbow Warriors (22-4, 12-4 MPSF) swept No. 14 Cal State Northridge (12-14, 5-12 MPSF) last week in their final conference matches at the Stan Sheriff Center. UH will travel to Los Angeles to face UCLA on April 7-8 to close out conference play. The MPSF quarterfinals are scheduled for April 15.
Rainbow Wahine keep No. 5 ranking
The top six teams, including the University of Hawaii, held their spots in the AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Poll announced Monday. The Rainbow Wahine (15-2) remain at No. 5 following dominant wins over Nebraska, Irvine Valley College, TCU and Stanford last week.
Southern California holds the top spot with a 16-0 record, followed by Pepperdine (12-1), UCLA (11-2) and Florida State (11-5). UH will face the No. 2 Waves in Malibu on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Martin, Taylor earn Big West honors
University of Hawaii beach volleyball players Morgan Martin and Mikayla Tucker were named the Big West pairs team of the week on Monday. The freshman and senior are the third different Rainbow Wahine pair to earn the honor this season.
Martin and Tucker finished 4-0 in last week’s matches to help No. 5 Hawaii improve to 15-2 this season. They hold a 12-5 record and have won nine of their past 11 matches.
HPU softball splits with Dominican
Sophomore Dominique Walker hit a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to give the Hawaii Pacific softball team a 7-5 win over Dominican (Calif.) on Monday. The Sharks (13-13, 6-10 PacWest) dropped the first game to the Penguins 11-10.
Karitza Reyes led the Penguins (14-15, 13-6 PacWest) with four hits, five RBIs and a home run in the doubleheader.
Noelani Boyer posted home runs in both games for HPU.
UH golfers tied for ninth at Anuenue Classic
University of Hawaii sophomore Kaci Masuda shot 1 over par to lead the University of Hawaii women’s golf team after the first round of the Anuenue Spring Break Classic on Monday at the Kapalua Bay Course.
While Masuda is tied for ninth on the leaderboard with 73, the Rainbow Wahine also are tied for ninth in the 15-team field. UCLA leads the pack by two strokes (291), followed by Colorado and San Jose State, which both recorded 293. UH is 16 strokes behind the Bruins and tied with defending Big West champion UC Davis.
The Rainbow Wahine will resume play today at 7:45 a.m.
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