Hawaii’s Ka’iwi Schucht was named the most outstanding slayer, Emily Maglio the best blocker and the fifth-ranked Rainbow Wahine swept No. 9 Stetson and Loyola Marymount to claim the title of the Queen’s Cup beach volleyball tournament Saturday in Waikiki.
Hawaii extended its program-best start to 8-0 with 5-0 victories over the Hatters and Lions at Queen’s Beach. In the day’s opener against LMU, the SandBows needed three sets to win at Nos. 1 and 4 with Mikayla Tucker-Morgan Martin and Hannah Zalopany-Norene Iosia rallying for their respective victories.
Against Stetson, Nikki Taylor-Schucht at No. 2 and Ari Homayun-Carly Kan at No. 4 also won their respective matches in three.
Other awards went to LMU’s Kristen Castellanos (best defensive player) and Stetson’s Maggie Skelbred (best offensive player).
Hawaii next hosts the Outrigger Invitational Friday and Saturday at Queen’s Beach. The field includes No. 1 USC, No. 2 Florida State, No. 8 Arizona, Nebraska and Utah.
Chico State downs Hawaii Pacific
Connor Orr had 31 points, but it was not enough as Chico State upset No. 4 Hawaii Pacific 77-74 in the NCAA Division II Men’s West Region semifinals in La Jolla, Calif.
The loss brings to an end one of the finest seasons in HPU program history. Only the 1992-93 national championship team had more wins than the 29 games won by the Sharks this year.
With 9:13 left in the game, the Sharks (29-3) trailed 65-50. A layup by Orr sparked a 22-6 run that erased the deficit, and was capped by a pair of free throws by Connor Looney that gave HPU the lead.
But a late offensive foul stopped the run for HPU, and Chico State (25-7) closed the game on a 6-3 run to seize the victory.
Looney finished with 12 points, and chipped in three steals, with Elliott DeFreitas adding 11 points and seven rebounds.
Corey Silverstrom led Chico State with 17 points. The Wildcats advance to the regional championship game on Monday night.
Punahou volleyball is best in West
The Punahou boys volleyball team blitzed through the best of the west tournament in Poway, Calif., this week, taking the gold bracket championship.
The Buffanblu opened the tournament with a sweep of Mira Costa (25-20, 25-17) then took out Corona Del Mar 22-25, 25-19, 15-13 in the second round. From there, Punahou swept Mater Dei 26-24, 29-27 and beat Oak Park 25-22, 16-25, 15-13 for the title.
Punahou’s Ryan Wilcox was selected as the tournament’s MVP and Kana’i Akana joined him on the all-tournament team.
‘Iolani finished 13th in the gold bracket after being swept by San Clemente in the first round of pool play. The Raiders beat Servite 25-22, 17-25, 15-9 in their last match.
Moanalua lost all three of its matches in the silver bracket, getting swept by Buchanan (25-17, 25-21), Highland (25-22, 25-13) and St. John Bosco (25-23, 25-22).
Corcordia sweeps BYU-Hawaii in softball
The BYU-Hawaii softball team was shut out in its doubleheader with Concordia on Saturday, falling 8-0 and 4-0 at Central Oahu Regional Park.
In the opener, Concordia starter Grayson Harvey scattered three hits over five innings of work for the win.
In the second game, the Eagles (18-9-2, 8-4 PacWest) got another excellent pitching performance, as Beth Ann McCann tossed a shutout over five innings while striking out six.
The Seasiders (9-17, 6-8) will return to action on Friday, taking on Dixie State in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. at BYUH Field.
Reardon to speak at Quarterback Club
Sports columnist Dave Reardon will be the featured guest speaker at the Honolulu Quarterback Club on Monday.
Reardon has been a professional sports writer for over 30 years, and is the author of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Further Review column.
The Honolulu Quarterback Club is held at the Maple Garden Restaurant. There is free parking next to the restaurant or street parking is available. Lunch is at 11:30 am and the program begins at 12 noon. The luncheon cost is $16.00 per person for members and guests.
