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University of Hawaii opens Big West beach volleyball tournament with win

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM

Hawaii’s Emily Maglio won the battle at the net with Sydney Haynes of Cal State Bakersfield.

The third-ranked Hawaii beach volleyball team won its 28th straight match today, sweeping Cal State Bakersfield 5-0 to open the Big West championship tournament at Queen’s Beach.

The top-seeded Rainbow Wahine (33-3) advance to Saturday’s winners bracket semifinal against third-seeded Long Beach State. The sixth-ranked 49ers (25-6) upset second-seeded and fourth-ranked Cal Poly 3-2 today, sending the Mustangs into this afternoon’s elimination match against Cal State Northridge.

Cal Poly took out its frustration on the Matadors (17-8), ousting them 5-0. Also eliminated was Sacramento State, the Hornets (4-17) swept by Long Beach State 5-0, then edged by Bakersfield 3-2.

Cal Poly (26-6) and Bakersfield (8-17) meet in a loser-out match at 11 a.m. Saturday. That winner advances to face the loser of Saturday’s Hawaii-Long Beach State match at noon in the losers bracket final.

The Hawaii-Long Beach State winner moves on in the winners bracket and will await the winner of the losers bracket. The championship match is set for 1 p.m., with a winner-take-all final if needed at 3 p.m.

The SandBows kept several other impressive streaks alive against the Roadrunners (7-17). The Flight 1 pair of Emily Maglio and Ka’iwi Schucht won their 24th straight with a 21-11, 21-15 victory over Bakersfield’s Sydney Haynes and Emily Hansen, and Ari Homayun and Amy Ozee, playing at Flight 4, won their 22nd in a row, defeating the Roadrunners’ Mattison Degamo and Emily Lopes 21-7, 21-15.

Hawaii is the two-time defending conference champion. The championship final is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.

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