It was as close as it could be between Nos. 2 and 3. A few grains of sand of separation it seemed from the way it ended.

Third-ranked Hawaii moving up two spots in Wednesday’s AVCA Collegiate Sand Poll came up just short against No. 2 USC, falling to the Women of Troy 3-2 in the last dual match of a triple header at Queen’s Beach Sandbox.

With the outcome on the line on adjacent courts, the Nos. 1 and 2 pairs both went to a third set to decide it. While UH-1 Brittany Tiegs-Karissa Cook prevailed over USC-1 Kirby Burnham-Sara Hughes, 21-18, 22-24, 15-12, UH-2 Katie Spieler-Nikki Taylor couldn’t hold on against USC-2 Alexa Strange-Kelly Cloes, 9-21, 21-19, 15-13.

"That was a great collegiate sand volleyball match," USC coach Anna Collier said. "You have to play your best when you play the best. A day like today elevates the sport.

"We knew we’d have to bring our A’ game. I would never underestimate Hawaii you’re going to have to play well or they’re going to take you down. We knew they’d be well-prepared, very fit, ready to play on their home court, with a coach (Scott Wong) who was a top-level player and knows the game. It’s why we came."

USC and Hawaii both picked up dual victories against unranked Arizona (5-2). The SandBows swept the Wildcats 5-0 without dropping a set; USC won 4-1, with UA-4 Sarah Seiber-Rachel Rhodes preventing a sweep by toppling Eve Ettinger-Bria Russ, 21-13, 12-21, 15-7.

The day featured the return of Jane Croson, who played two seasons of indoor and sand for the Rainbow Wahine. Now at Arizona, she and Madi Kingdon UA-1 lost in straight sets against both Hawaii (21-11, 21-13) and USC (21-15, 21-16).

Most of the drama came late in the UH-USC match. The Women of Troy took a 2-0 lead with straight-set wins at Nos. 4 and 5.

The crowd of several hundred enjoyed a very tight match on Court 1, with Tiegs-Cook holding off three set points in Set 2 to take a 21-20 lead that featured a 4-0 run that included a key net violation on Burnham and three consecutive aces by Tiegs. Burnham-Hughes held off two match points, the last at 22-21, scoring three points to force a third set.

Play was so even on both Courts 1 and 2 that when both matches went to Set 3 the pairs traded sides at the same time (teams switch when the score is at increments of 5). Both matches were tied 5-5 at the switch, with Tiegs-Cook going ahead 9-6 and Spieler-Taylor up 8-7.

Tiegs-Cook held the lead, with Tiegs’ serving helping take a 14-11 lead. One sideout later, Hughes served long, pulling UH to within 2-1 in the team score.

UH-3 Ali Longo-Ginger Long won their match moments later, with Long coming up with a couple of blocks and the match-ending kill to defeat Sam Hirschmann-Natasja Siljkovic 22-20, 25-23 to tie it at 2-2.

Spieler-Taylor, who won last Sunday’s pairs event at the USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge in California, fell minutes later to Strange-Cloes.

Two weeks ago, it was a 2-1 win by Tiegs-Cook that gave the SandBows a 3-2 win over then-No. 3 Long Beach State. Tiegs said that victory helped the mind-set when it went to three Wednesday.

"Today did remind me of the Long Beach match," she said. "I think what we learned was not to give up. Sometimes teams will get in a rut, be unfocused for a point or two, and you can lose it just like that.

"Today we did well shaking off (losing) a point. We put it behind us and moved on. I think playing the top teams like Long Beach, (No. 1) Pepperdine, SC so early and doing well against them means we’re playing well, but it also shows what we need to work on."