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HONOLULU  – The 12th-ranked University of Hawai’i beach volleyball team opened up the Heineken Queen’s Cup with a pair of dominating wins at Queen’s Beach on Thursday. The Rainbow Wahine rolled through its competition, defeating Concordia-Irvine and Chaminade by identical 5-0 scores.

In its first action in nearly two weeks, the Rainbow Wahine (3-4) showed little rust. The BeachBows started the tournament with its first sweep of the season, coming at the expense of  Concordia Irvine. UH won in straight sets on four of five courts. The top flight was the most competitive as UH’s Julia Lawrenz and Izadora Stedile engaged in a three-set battle with Olivia Medina and Aliyah Moore. However after each  pair took a set by a 21-18 count, the Brazilian duo showed their superiority by racing to a 15-10 clinching win in set three. 

The match saw the return of Sarah Burton and Caprice Lorenzo to the lineup after the tandem was sidelined for the tail end of the season-opening Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic. The duo was the most efficient of the morning picking up a 21-11, 21-17 win over Gabrielle Reinking and Lexi Godbey.

In the second match of the day, the BeachBows retained island bragging rights with an easy win over Chaminade. In a match that took less than 40 minutes, UH steamrolled on all five courts, winning all 10 sets. Chamindade put up a fight early on court No. 4 where Allison Panter and Tabby Allen battled Sydney Miller and Emily Heintzelman to a 21-19 score in the opening set. But the UH duo left no doubt in the second set, overwhelming the Silverswords, 21-5.

 

The match also featured the season debut of Ayva Moi and Jesse Mann at the No. 5 flight. The sophomore-senior combination looked sharp, rolling past Aliya Hofherr-Sander and DeLaney Poling 21-4, 21-9. 

The Rainbow Wahine will be back in action on Day 2 of the Heineken Queen’s Cup on Friday taking on a pair of Bay Area teams. The ‘Bows will face Saint Mary’s at 9:45 am before playing San Jose State at 12:15 p.m. 

Hawai’i 5 Concordia Irvine 0 

1. Lawrenz/Stedile (UH) def. Medina/Moore (CUI) 21-18, 18-21, 15-10

2. Burton/Lorenzo (UH) def. Gabrielle Reinking/Lexi Godbey (CUI) 21-11, 21-17

3. Julia Thelle/Sophie Buschmann (UH) def. Keia Giusta/Ashley Rossi (CUI) 23-21, 21-14 

4. Heintzelman/Miller (UH) def. Rosie Cline/Jordan Vander Veen 21-15, 21-15

5. Kristen Serrano/Kiera Cornman (UH) def. Teagan Algarra/Emma Hugeback, 21-17, 21-11

Order of finish: 2, 4, 5*, 3, 1

Hawai’i 5 Chaminade 0

1. Lawrenz/Stedile (UH) def. Beele Wieczorek/Sina Bauer (CU) 21-7, 21-11

2. Burton/Lorenzo (UH) def. Leilani Ama/Kanoelehua Misipeka (CU) 21-9, 21-12

3. Thelle/Buschmann (UH) def. Audrah Johnson/Alizaysha Sopi (CU) 21-7, 21-5

4. Heintzelman/Miller (UH) def. Panter/Allen (CU) 21-19, 21-5

5. Mann/Moi (UH) def. Hofherr-Sander/Poling (CU) 21-4, 21-9

Order of finish: 3, 5, 2*, 4, 1

Thurday’s Results

Pepperdine 4, UNCW 1

UH 5, Concordia-Irvine 0 

SMC 4, SJSU 1

CUI 5, Chaminade 0 

Pepperdine 5, SJSU 0

SMC 3, UNCW 2

UH 5, Chaminade 0

Friday’s Schedule

CUI vs. Pepperdine, 8:30 am

UH vs. SMC, 9:45 am

Chaminade vs. UNCW, 11:00 am

UH vs. SJSU, 12:15 pm

Pepperdine vs. SMC, 1:30 pm

SJSU vs. Chaminade, 2:45 pm

CUI vs. UNCW, 4:00 pm

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