Spoiler alert.
If you want to close your eyes for the next three weeks, stop reading.
Now.
Otherwise, know this. In the made-for-TV final of the inaugural Aloha Invitational, No. 6 Long Beach State edged No. 2 Hawaii for the gold medal 5-4, thanks to the 49ers’ lone win — that at the No. 1 flight — being worth 5 points. The Beach’s Chelsea Cabrajac and Delainey Aigner-Swesy held off Nikki Taylor-Brittany Tiegs 21-19, 22-20 in the finale of the afternoon bracket in front of a crowd of about 200 that lined the Queen’s Beach main court.
(The official result will go down as a 4-1 victory for Hawaii. CBS Sports will broadcast portions on May 16).
It was the first time Taylor and Tiegs had played a match in nearly two weeks after Taylor retweaked her right elbow. That they were able to stay within reach of Cabrajac and Aigner-Swesy — who won Friday’s pairs event — was encouraging for the Rainbow Wahine duo as they prepare for next week’s AVCA Collegiate Sand Nationals in Gulf Shores, Ala.
Taylor-Tiegs held off three match points when rallying from 20-17 to tie at 20. They couldn’t do it a fourth time as Cabrajac put down a kill and Aigner-Swesy blocked Taylor to end it.
"I thought we did a good job at scrambling back," Taylor said. "Today was more about us getting back into the groove of playing together and work on our consistency."
Saturday’s unique format had two morning duals, with Hawaii beating No. 8 UCLA 4-1 and Long Beach State sweeping Saint Mary’s 5-0. The SandBows and 49ers then advanced to the winners’ bracket, and the Bruins and Gaels to the contenders’ bracket; UCLA downed Saint Mary’s 4-1 to earn the bronze medal.
"The bottom line is we didn’t take care of business in that last match, but overall I feel good about the day," Hawaii coach Jeff Hall said. "We won all but two matches. It was a little unique that the last match was worth five points, but we understood that was for TV.
"I think (getting the silver medal) keeps our girls hungry. It’s all about next week."
Coincidentally, Hawaii and Long Beach State open against each other Friday in the team portion of the national tournament. The SandBows rallied past the 49ers 3-2 in a dual meeting April 11 in Hermosa Beach, Calif.
Cabrajac agreed the experience at Queen’s Beach would be a good springboard into the nationals.
"It was a good win for us today and we’ll use it to refocus when we see them next week," she said.
The 49ers nearly picked up another win at No. 2 when Tyler Jackson-Anete Brinke had two match points on UH’s Katie Spieler-Olivia Urban, at 14-13 and 15-14 in Set 3. Two kills by Spieler gave Hawaii the only match point it would need at 16-15 and Jackson’s attempt to bump it just inside the line rolled along the tape and out to give Hawaii the 21-13, 19-21, 17-15 victory.
ALOHA INVITATIONAL
Saturday At Queens Beach
First round
No. 1 Pairings
Delainey Aigner-Swesy/Chelsea Cabrajac (LBSU) def. Dalas Dodd/Alexis Salmons (SMC), 21-16, 21-17.
Brittany Tiegs/Nikki Taylor (UH) def. Kamila Tan/Zoe Nightingale (UCLA), 15-21, 21-16, 15-13.
No. 2 Pairings
Tyler Jackson/Anete Brinke (LBSU) def. Mary Hernandez/Mileva Popovic (SMC), 21-15, 21-19.
Madie Smith/Elsie Zappia (UCLA) def. Katie Spieler/Olivia Urban (UH), 15-21, 21-19, 15-12.
No. 3 Pairings
Sammie Brown/Hannah Rooks (UH) def. Laurel Weaver/Julie Consani (UCLA), 21-16, 21-17.
Bre Mackie/Jenelle Hudson (LBSU) def. Madi Wilkerson/Clare Powers (SMC), 21-14, 21-12.
No. 4 Pairings
Mikayla Tucker/Ka’iwi Schuct (UH) def. Karly Droisan/Rachel Inouye (UCLA), 16-21, 21-16, 15-10.
Andrea McHugh/Ciana Wagner (LBSU) def. Hannah Liserra/Maegan Conroy (SMC), 21-8, 21-11.
No. 5 Pairings
Lara Schreiber/Heather Boyan (UH) def. Ivey Schmitt/Lexi Jasper-Balen (UCLA), 21-15, 21-12.
Rachel Nieto/Sammee Thomas (LBSU) def. Nicole Trenka/Nicole Singh (SMC), 21-8, 21-12.
Contenders’ round
Kamila Tan/Zoe Nightingale (UCLA) def. Dalas Dodd/Alexis Salmons (SMC), 21-15, 18-21, 16-14.
Madie Smith/Elsie Zappia (UCLA) def. Mary Hernandez/Mileva Popovic (SMC), 21-10, 21-16.
Madi Wilkerson/Clare Powers (SMC) def. Madi Wilkerson/Clare Powers (UCLA), 21-19, 21-16.
Karly Droisan/Rachel Inouye (UCLA) def. Hannah Liserra/Maegan Conroy (SMC), 21-8, 21-14.
Ivey Schmitt/Lexi Jasper-Balen (UCLA) def. Nicole Trenka/Nicole Singh (SMC), 21-9, 21-11.
Winners’ round
Delainey Aigner-Swesy/Chelsea Cabrajac (LBSU) def. Brittany Tiegs/Nikki Taylor (UH), 21-18, 22-20.
Katie Spieler/Olivia Urban (UH) def. Tyler Jackson/Anete Brinke (LBSU), 21-13, 19-21, 17-15.
Sammie Brown/Hannah Rooks (UH) def. Bre Mackie/Jenelle Hudson (LBSU), 21-18, 21-19.
Mikayla Tucker/Ka’iwi Schuct (UH) def. Andrea McHugh/Ciana Wagner (LBSU), 31-29, 21-16.
Lara Schreiber/Heather Boyan (UH) def. Rachel Nieto/Sammee Thomas (LBSU), 21-18, 21-19.
