The team that ended Hawaii’s past two seasons will be among three that the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team will host for spring exhibition matches at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Minnesota is scheduled to make its first trip to Honolulu since the 2008 Honolulu Advertiser Challenge, playing Hawaii on March 16. Also playing against the Wahine in 7 p.m. matches at the Stan Sheriff Center are Osaka from Japan on Feb. 28, and Kansas on March 21.
Minnesota eliminated Hawaii from the NCAA tournament in the 2015 regional final as well as last December’s second round. The Golden Gophers advanced to the 2016 final four, where they lost to eventual national champion Stanford in the semifinals, finishing 29-5 and ranked No. 3.
This will be the first meeting for Hawaii against Kansas. Last season, the Jayhawks (27-3, 13-1 Big 12) won their conference championship and finished at No. 12 in the AVCA poll after falling to Creighton in the NCAA tournament second round.
Hawaii (23-6, 15-1 Big West) was ranked No. 17 in the final poll.
Seating for all three matches is general admission. Tickets are $11 for adults, $8 for seniors (ages 65 and up) and $5 for students (ages 4 through high school).
Tickets go on sale Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the UH box office, by phone at 944-2697 or online at etickethawaii.com.
Virginia wins John Burns Intercollegiate
Fourth-ranked Virginia was the wire-to-wire winner of the 41st John A. Burns Intercollegiate, capturing the men’s golf tournament by four strokes over No. 18 Texas A&M at the Wailua Golf Course on Kauai.
The Cavaliers concluded the 54-hole event at 835, 29 strokes under par. The runner-up Aggies, led by medalist Chandler Phillips’ 201, were second in the 18-team event at 839 with No. 23 UNLV third at 840.
Host Hawaii finished in 17th at 906, while Hawaii Hilo was last at 925. Leading the Rainbow Warriors was sophomore Cameron Kaneko (220), tying for 47th, while junior Smart Kittirattanapaiboon (219), playing as an individual, tied for 40th.
The Vulcans were led by Jared Kinoshita’s 220, tying him for 47th. Finishing second to Phillips at 204 was Hayden Shieh of Santa Clara and Cal’s Collin Morikawa was third at 204.
HPU splits baseball twinbill
Jordan Mopas doubled in two runs in the bottom of the fourth and Hawaii Pacific went on to defeat University of the Sciences 7-1 in Friday’s opener of a nonconference baseball doubleheader at Hans L’Oranage Park.
In the nightcap, Justin Skinner’s two-run double in the top of the fourth proved to be the difference as the Devils (1-1) held on to beat the Sharks (5-2), 3-1. HPU avoided the shutout on Matthew Tsutomi’s run-scoring double in the sixth.
Seasiders swept in softball
Brigham Young-Hawaii dropped both ends of a nonconference softball doubleheader on Friday, losing to Western Oregon 9-3 and 11-0 at BYUH Softball Field.
The Seasiders (1-7) led the opener 3-2 after a three-run third, highlighted by Lizabelle Talataina’s two-run single. The Wolves (7-4) took the lead for good with four runs in the top of the fourth.
BYUH managed just two hits in the second game, which was called after five innings due to the eight-run rule.
Softball matches canceled
Unplayable field conditions at Hawaii Pacific’s Howard Okita Field forced the cancellation of two softball games involving Chaminade and HPU.
The Silverswords and Sharks both were scheduled to play Simon Fraser from Canada. The games will not be made up.
