No. 5 Hawaii concluded its spring break trip to Florida with a pair of 4-1 wins over Top 10 teams Saturday at the Stetson Beach Invitational at DeLand, Fla.
The Rainbow Wahine (9-5) handed No. 2 Florida State (14-1) its first loss of the season, clinching the dual at the No. 2 flight when Emily Maglio and Katie Spieler swept previously unbeaten Kristina Pelliteri-Victoria Paranagua, 21-13, 21-13. The lone loss came in the final contest when Jace Pardon-Julie Brown held off Lara Schreiber-Nikki Taylor at No. 1, 21-17, 20-22, 15-9.
The one loss against FIU came at No. 5 when Tina Toghiyani-Estafanie Bethancour prevailed over Mikayla Tucker-Ginger Long, 21-19, 11-21, 16-14. It tied the dual at 1-1 with Hawaii taking the last three flights.
“I’m very proud of how all the pairs played, it was a whole team effort,” UH coach Jeff Hall said after his team extended its winning streak to six. “This should help our chances to make the NCAA tournament. There was a lot of good programs with great players and we’re fortunate to come out on top.”
Hawaii returns home to host the Outrigger Beach Volleyball Challenge beginning with Friday’s pairs event at the Ching Complex with No. 4 UCLA (9-4) and Arizona State (7-5). The Wahine have duals with ASU and UCLA on Saturday at Queen’s Beach.
Reardon to speak at Quarterback Club
Honolulu Star-Advertiser sports columnist Dave Reardon is the featured speaker for today’s luncheon of the Honolulu Quarterback Club.
An alum of Pearl City High School, Reardon has more than 30 years under his belt as a professional sports writer.
The Honolulu Quarterback Club meets on Mondays at The Maple Garden Restaurant at 909 Isenberg St., across from the Old Stadium Park. Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. and the cost is $16 per person, with the program slated for a noon start time.