The No. 2 pair of Katie Spieler and Nikki Taylor continues to reflect its placement in competition for the No. 5 Hawaii sand volleyball team.

For the second week in a row, Spieler and Taylor reached the final of a pairs tournament and, for the second week in a row, the Rainbow Wahine duo finished second.

Sunday, it was at the USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge in Chula Vista, Calif. Sophomore Spieler, and freshman Taylor lost to Pepperdine’s No. 2 team of Kelley Larsen and Kellie Woolever 21-18, 16-21, 15-10.

The highlight of the tournament for Spieler-Taylor came earlier in the day. In the preceding semifinal, the SandBows duo upset Pepperdine’s No. 1 team of Becca Strehlow and 2013 sand All-American Lara Dykstra 21-16, 21-17.

It was the first loss of the season for the duo from the top-ranked Waves. Larsen and Woolever, 21-1 last season, advanced to the final via a 21-17, 21-12 win over Hawaii No. 1, Karissa Cook and Karlee Riggs.

Riggs was a substitute for Cook’s usual partner, 2012 sand All-American Brittany Tiegs. Tiegs, who won last week’s Rainbow Wahine Invitational pairs title with Cook, played two matches Saturday but was sidelined by a back injury for the rest of the tournament.

All five Hawaii pairs won at least one match in the single-elimination tournament. Three advanced to the quarters, including Ali Longo and Ginger Long, who defeated a pair from Grand Canyon then lost to Strehlow-Dykstra 21-15, 21-18.

The SandBows return home to host four straight days at the Queen’s Beach Sandbox, beginning with matches Wednesday against Arizona (11 a.m.) and USC (1 p.m.)