The expectations were that Long Beach State was going to be good. As good, perhaps, as the 49ers’ 2013 AVCA Sand Championship title team.
No. 5 Hawaii saw glimpses of that on Saturday in a loss to the sixth-ranked 49ers 3-2 at the Big West Challenge in Huntington Beach, Calif. It was the first time in five meetings that the Rainbow Wahine lost to the 49ers; UH still leads the series 8-6.
BIG WEST CHALLENGE
At Huntington Beach, Calif.
No. 6 Long Beach State 3, No. 5 Hawaii 2
No. 5 Hawaii 4, Cal Poly 1
Cal Poly 3, CSUN 2
No. 6 Long Beach State 5, Sac State 0
CSUN 4, Sac State 1
Long Beach State 3, Hawaii 2
1. Nele Barber-Rachel Nieto (LBS) def. Morgan Martin-Mikayla Tucker (UH), 21-18, 22-20
2. Sasha Karelov-Kobi Pekich (LBS) def. Ka’iwi Schucht-Nikki Taylor (UH), 21-15, 21-15
3. Emily Maglio-Laurel Weaver (UH) def. Anete Brinke-Hailey Harward (LBS), 21-15, 21-15
4. Morea Wagner-Heather Weiss (LBS) def. Norene Iosia-Hannah Zalopany (UH), 21-14, 21-17
5. Ari Homayun-Carly Kan (UH) def Megan Kruidhoff-Jenelle Hudson (LBS), 21-13, 21-16
Hawaii 4, Cal Poly 1
1. Emily Sonny -Hannah Hubbard (CP) def. Morgan Martin-Mikayla Tucker (UH), 14-21, 24-22, 18-16
2. Ka’iwi Schucht-Nikki Taylor (UH) def. Taylor Nelson-Adlee Van Winden (CP), 21-16, 21-19
3. Emily Maglio-Laurel Weaver (UH) def. Raeann Greisen-Heather Pembroke (CP), 21-10, 21-16
4. Norene Iosia-Hannah Zalopany (UH) def. Anna Gorman-Savannah Nieman (CP), 21-18, 21-17
5. Ari Homayun-Carly Kan (UH) def. Dora Berlin-Holland Boege (CP), 21-16, 21-14
“They were exactly what we expected,” Wahine coach Jeff Hall said in a telephone call. “They were hungry and they were better than us.
“We played very tentative and they took advantage of it.”
The SandBows (16-4) came back to take the dual with Cal Poly (9-9), 4-1. Hawaii finishes out the tournament today with duals against Sacramento State (3-4) and Cal State Northridge (3-7).
Tied at 2-2, the 49ers (15-3) clinched the dual at Flight 1, where Nele Barber and Rachel Nieto defeated Morgan Martin and Mikayla Tucker 21-18, 22-20. Martin-Tucker had set point at 20-19 in the second but were unable to force a third set, losing three straight points.
“We’ve got to get better mentally, have to get past the fear of failing,” Hall said. “We’re not realizing our potential.
“We’re happy that we took care of business (against Cal Poly) and looking forward to going 2-0 tomorrow and coming home.”
Hawaii’s only loss against the Mustangs came at Flight 1 when Emily Sonny-Hannah Hubbard rallied past Martin-Tucker, 14-21, 24-22, 18-16.
UH water polo routs San Diego State
University of Hawaii sophomore Irene Gonzalez scored four goals and junior Chloe Barr added three in the eighth-ranked Rainbow Wahine water polo team’s 13-4 win over No. 12 San Diego State on Saturday at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.
Five UH players scored and the Wahine (12-10) broke away with a 6-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters to rebound from a 12-4 loss to No. 3 UCLA on Friday.
Barr scored all three of her goals in the first half to power UH to a 6-1 lead. After SDSU (13-12) scored the first two goals of the third quarter, Gonzalez scored twice and Nikki-Marie Bell added another.
Bell and Claire Nixon finished with two goals and Maarte Keuning and Samantha Malouff added one each in the finale of UH’s five-game homestand.
The Rainbow Wahine resume Big West play on Saturday at No. 11 UC Davis.
