Perfect start for UH at Husky Invitational
The No. 15 University of Hawaii beach volleyball team rolled to a 3-0 start to the Husky Invitational on Friday at Alki Beach in Seattle. The Rainbow Wahine (11-7) blanked Oregon and Portland 5-0 before taking down host Washington 4-1.
The BeachBows extended their win streak to four straight, having dropped just a single point in that stretch.
Hawaii quickly put down Oregon and Portland in ten straight-set finishes. The momentum carried into their third match. The Brooke Van Sickle/Amber Igiede, Ilihia Huddelston/Kaylee Glagau and Pani Napoleon/Jaime Santer pairs each won in straight sets to quickly clinch UH’s third consecutive victory of the day.
Hawaii went to three sets on the last two courts, splitting the matches as Anna Maidment and Sofia Russo defeated Huskies pair Callie Weber and Cassidy Schilling 21-16, 20-22, 16-14, while Harlee Kekauoha and Lea Kruse fell to UW’s Scarlett Dahl and Kyra Peterson 21-13, 21-7, 16-14 for the BeachBows’ only dropped point of the day.
Moving into bracket play today, UH earned the No. 1 seed and will take on Portland at 7 a.m.
UC Riverside stifles Wahine softball team
UC Riverside junior Chrys Hildebrand held Hawaii to two hits and the Highlanders opened a Big West softball series with a 2-1 win on Friday at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
Hildebrand (3-7) struck out 10, walked one, and held off a Wahine rally in the seventh and the Highlanders snapped a six-game losing streak. UH freshman Jetta Nannen struck out a season-high seven and walked none but took the loss to fall to 5-5.
UCR freshman Gianna Araki, a Leilehua graduate, went 2-for-3 and drove in a run with a single in the top of the sixth to give the Highlanders a 2-0 lead. UH broke up the shutout on Maya Nakamura’s sacrifice pop-up to score Nawai Kaupe with one out in the bottom of the seventh. After Dallas Millwood’s single put the tying run on base, Hildebrand ended the threat with her 10th strikeout.
The teams meet again in a doubleheader today starting at noon.
UH holds off UC Irvine for water polo win
Olivia Kistler scored a tie-breaking goal in the third quarter and No. 6 Hawaii held off No. 7 UC Irvine 7-5 in a Big West water polo match on Friday at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.
Libby Gault and Lot Stertefeld scored two goals each and Molly DiLalla made seven saves for the Rainbow Wahine (6-1, 2-1 BWC) in their third straight win over the Anteaters (9-6, 1-2). UH and UCI close their series today in a nonconference match at 6 p.m.
