It wasn’t the outcome Katie Spieler and Olivia Urban hoped for, but it was a win for the fans in attendance.
The University of Hawaii sand volleyball duo provided some free entertainment on Queen’s Beach with a back-and-forth battle that included 11 game points in Set 2, but the Rainbow Wahine eventually fell to Pepperdine’s Kellie Woolever and Kelley Larsen, 17-21, 31-29, 15-5 in the gold bracket championship at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational on Saturday.
Hawaii’s No. 2 pairing of Spieler-Urban advanced to the final after sweeping the Waves’ No. 3 tandem of Becca Strehlow and Emily Cook, 21-15, 21-18 in the semis. They were the only Hawaii team to reach the gold bracket after Friday’s pool play rounds.
"For me, I love to just get to the finals, ’cause I feel like once you get there you just flow, the energy’s there and you’re just playing your game," Spieler said.
Standing just 5-foot-5, Spieler put on a defensive clinic, picking up dinks and digs from sideline to sideline, and was named best defensive player of the invitational, while Urban held her own with eight kills and three blocks in the final match.
In the first set of the championship game, the home team carried its momentum from the semis and led 17-11 with Spieler’s ninth kill of the match in deep center court. Her array of shots kept the defense off-balance with bumps over on the first touch, sharp roll shots along the net, and well-placed digs that turned into kills.
The Waves rallied back with a 6-1 run to trail 18-17, but a Pepperdine service error, a Spieler kill and a net violation gave the SandBows a 1-0 game advantage.
Pepperdine came out strong in the second set and earned a 14-10 lead with Larsen’s dump-over on the second touch. Hawaii inched its way back to tie the game at 19, one of 17 ties in the set. The Waves reached three game points, but Spieler-Urban answered each one with a sideout. The next six match points were Hawaii’s opportunity to clinch the invitational title, but two consecutive errors and another Larsen kill forced a deciding third set.
The SandBows appeared to be out of gas after the Set 2 marathon, and never held a lead in Set 3. Hawaii trailed 7-4 after a hard-angle kill by Urban, but gave up seven straight points as the Waves upped their tempo. Woolever’s shot off the top of the tape landed short and out of Hawaii’s reach to end the match.
"That was pretty heart-breaking," Spieler said of the second set. "We gave it our all so we can’t be upset, but it was just great volleyball and it was a privilege to be in that game and playing it."
Spieler and Urban, who are also roommates and best friends, became sand partners just two weeks ago, but their solid chemistry has grown in a short period of time, first-year head coach Jeff Hall said.
"We made that switch about a week and a half ago and they just started playing really, really good together," Hall said. "We knew that they were an exceptional team. Quite honestly, they’re fighting now to maybe be the No. 1 team and they proved it this weekend."
In the silver bracket, Hawaii’s No. 1 team of Brittany Tiegs and Nikki Taylor defeated two Hawaii duos to advance to the final match, but fell to Pepperdine’s Corinne Quiggle and Katie Messing 21-17, 29-27. The Waves also clinched the Bronze bracket, as Samantha Cash and Leanna Schroeder edged Loyola Marymount’s Rachelle Suaava and Hannah Tedrow 18-21, 21-18, 15-13.
Overall, Hall appeared to be very optimistic after the SandBows’ first tournament of the season.
"It was kind of where we predicted. I think the surprises were the effort levels were extremely high," Hall said. "You’re hopeful as a coach, but they absolutely went after it every single point, so hats off to the team."
