Hawaii junior Ashley Murphy earned a complete-game victory in the Rainbow Wahine softball team’s 5-1 road win over Cal State Northridge on Friday in Northridge, Calif.
UH catcher Ka’ena Keliinoi went 2-for-3 and scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball in the top of the fifth inning. Maya Nakamura drove in Nawai Kaupe with a single later in the inning to give UH a 3-1 lead. Senior left fielder Bree Soma capped the scoring with a two-run triple in the top of the seventh and the Wahine improved to 3-4 overall and 3-1 in Big West play.
Murphy, elevated to the top of the pitching rotation this week, gave up six hits, walked five, struck out three and stranded 11 CSUN runners while improving to 2-1. CSUN reliever Eryka Gonzalez gave up four runs on seven hits with four walks and four strikeouts and took the loss for the Matadors (1-3, 1-3).
UH and CSUN close the series with a doubleheader today starting at 10 a.m. The doubleheader will be streamed on BigWest.tv.
BeachBows sweep UC Davis, CSUN
The Hawaii beach volleyball team swept past UC Davis and Cal State Northridge to open The Challenge on Friday in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
After going 2-2 earlier in the week, UH coach Angelica Ljungqvist altered the combinations for the opening day of the round-robin tournament featuring Big West opponents and the 10th-ranked BeachBows (4-2) dropped just two sets in winning 10 matches on Friday.
Amber Igiede joined Brooke Van Sickle in the No. 1 flight and they earned a 23-21, 11-21, 15-5 win over Paloma Bowman and Colleen McGuire in UH’s third 5-0 win over UC Davis (1-8) this week. Kaylee Glagau and Ilihia Huddleston also rolled in the third set in a 20-22, 21-16, 15-6 win over UCD’s Jane Seslar and Ashlee Goycoochea at the No. 4 flight.
UH swept on all five courts against CSUN (5-6). Harlee Kekauoha and Lea Kruse cruised to a 21-15, 21-5 win over Lexi McLeod and Seyvion Waggoner at the No. 2 Flight. Pani Napoleon and Jaime Santer went 2-0 on the day without dropping a set at the No. 3 flight.
UH closes its season-opening road trip today with matches against CSU Bakersfield, No. 19 Long Beach State and No. 5 Cal Poly.
UH’s Burman finishes 28th at NCAAs
University of Hawaii senior Max Burman finished 28th at the NCAA Championships in the 3-meter diving event held Friday afternoon at the Greensboro Aquatic Complex. It was his second day of competition in the national event.
Burman began his day with an inward 2½-somersault pike and a back 2½-somersault pike, scoring a strong 58.50 on each of his first two dives. His third dive saw him stumble in the rankings, as a reverse 2½-somersault pike only netted him 27.00 from the judges. He recovered, scoring north of 60 points on each of his final two dives to collect 324.50 points in the quarterfinals.
UH will wrap up its participation in the NCAA Championships today as freshman Zach Lundgren will participate in the platform event. Lundgren qualified for the nationals with a fifth overall finish at the Zone E Championships two weeks prior.