HERMOSA BEACH, Calif. » The conditions were better and so was the play by the Hawaii sand volleyball team Sunday. But it was not good enough to overcome the hole the Rainbow Wahine found themselves in after Saturday’s team play at the USAV Collegiate Challenge.

Hawaii’s top two tandems — Jane Croson-Ashley Lee (1-3) and Emily Hartong-Elizabeth Ka’aihue Stoltzman (2-2) — went a combined 3-5 and were seeded into Sunday’s pairs gold division bracket play accordingly. Both lost their opening match to higher-seeded teams from USC, precluding them from the pairs title.

Both recovered to win their consolation matches, ending the day on the Hermosa Beach courts on a high note and with high hopes. The goal was to finish high enough Sunday in order to earn at-large berths in the AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball Championships later this month.

Some 5 hours after finishing the event, Hawaii got the news for which it had hoped. Both Wahine pairs were among the 16 at-large teams that will compete for the individual title in Gulf Shores, Ala., April 27-29.

"For sure, we deserved to get two teams in," Hawaii coach Scott Wong said. "They earned it. It’s going to be a grind out there and, cliche as it is, it will be whoever plays the best when it counts.

"There’s a lot of good teams out there and we have two of them. We have some good wins, but I thought our lack of play (number of matches) might have counted against us. You never know when it’s up to a committee."

The committee also chose four teams from the inaugural event, including Saturday’s team winner, Pepperdine, and Long Beach State, which will host Hawaii today in a dual match. Also selected were Florida State and College of Charleston.

The Wahine lost to Long Beach State 3-2 in Saturday’s pool play. Hawaii also faces Loyola Marymount today at Long Beach State in its final team match of the season; the Wahine defeated the Lions 3-2 on Saturday.

"It’s going to be sad when it’s over," said Wahine senior Alex Griffiths, who had just this season to play sand. "I wish I had three more years to compete. It makes you a better all-around player and, for us ‘shorties,’ it was a chance to hit."

Griffiths, a 5-foot-6 libero-defensive specialist for two indoor seasons, teamed with sophomore Courtney Lelepali to go 1-1 in Sunday’s silver bracket. They won their consolation match 21-17, 21-16 over Avae Masaniai-Sarah Mendoza of Irvine Valley College, which is coached by former UH men’s player Tom Pestolesi.

In one of the best matches of the day, Hartong-Stoltzman rallied to beat Pepperdine’s Victoria Adelheim-Kellie Woolever 19-21, 22-20, 15-9. In the seesaw second set, Hawaii made good on its second set point when Stoltzman blocked Adelhelm to force another set.

The Wahine pulled away in the third set at 11-6 on three kills by Stoltzman and one of her aces.

Tough serving was also the key in the consolation victory by Croson-Lee. Croson had two consecutive aces in a deciding 4-0 run in Set 2 that put her team up 19-13. Lee had the final two kills in the 21-9, 21-14 win over Long Beach State’s Alma Serna-Chelsea Cabrajac.

"I wish I had a few more years to play sand," said Stoltzman, a four-year libero for Hawaii (2007-2010). "It’s been fun and I just love playing with (Hartong)."

Wong said he was satisfied with the progress made Sunday, but "our poor play Saturday set us up for some tough matchups today," he said of Sunday’s bracket. "I think it showed that you have to play well when it counts (in pool play).

"The reality is we had a team of indoor players playing sand this season. I think the focus for the future is to concentrate on getting 10 sand players and augment with indoor players."

In the all-Pepperdine pairs final Sunday, Caitlin Racich-Summer Ross defeated Lilla Fredrick-Kim Hill 21-14, 18-21, 16-14.