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Hawaii’s No. 2 pair of Katie Spieler and Nikki Taylor finished second in Sunday’s USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge, falling to Pepperdine’s No. 2 pair of Kelley Larsen and Kellie Woolever 21-18, 16-21, 15-10 at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
Spieler-Taylor upset Pepperdine’s No. 1 duo of Becca Strehlow-Lara Dykstra 21-16, 21-17 in Sunday’s earlier semifinal. Larsen-Woolever advanced with a 21-17, 21-12 victory over UH No. 1 Karissa Cook-Karlee Riggs.
Hawaii had five teams advance to the Round of 16 and three in the quarters, including No. 3 Ali Longo-Ginger Long, who were eliminated by Strehlow-Dykstra, 21-15, 25-18. Those eliminated in the Round of 16 were UH-5 Hannah Rooks-Tayler Higgins, 21-10, 21-15 losers to Shtrehlow-Dykstra, and UH-4 London Chow-Mikayla Tucker, who lost to Grand Canyon’s No. 3 team (score unavailable).
Brittany Tiegs, who had paired with Cook to win last Sunday’s pairs event at Queen’s Beach, sat out with a back problem.
Hawaii returns home to host dual matches with Arizona and USC Wednesday, and Nebraska Thursday. The four teams will compete in the Jack-in-the-Box Rainbow Wahine Spring Challenge pairs tournament Friday and Saturday.
All matches are at Queen’s Beach.
