LONG BEACH, Calif. – After a hard-fought final in front of a raucous crowd at Long Beach City College, the Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine claimed the program's fourth title at the 2024 Big West Beach Volleyball Championship, defeating host Long Beach State, 3-2.
With the win, Hawai'i (24-11) earns The Big West's automatic berth into the 2024 National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship in Gulf Shores, Ala., from May 3-5. The 'Bows will learn their seed and first-round opponent on Saturday at 8 a.m. PT/5 a.m. HT on ncaa.com as the 17-team bracket is announced.
Also facing off in pool play, UH was able to take down the Beach for the second time in the Championship and third time on the year. In the final dual, Long Beach State got on the board first at the No. 1 position, taking the quick advantage with the 21-16, 21-11 win from top pair and 2023's Big West Co-Freshmen of the Year Malia Gementera and Taylor Hagenah.
Hawai'i tied it up on Court 3 with the point from Sydney Miller and Anna Maidment before the Beach again edged out to the advantage after the point at No. 2 from Savannah Standage and Julia Westby, 21-16, 25-23. The dual was knotted at two apiece when Sarah Burton and Caprice Lorenzo picked up their fourth point of the weekend at Court 5, 24-22, 21-16.
With the title on the line, everything hung on the No. 4 tandems. LBSU's Haley Carrington and Christine Deroos took the first set 21-16. UH's duo of Riley Wagoner and Sydney Amiatu were able to bounce back with the 21-15 win and send everyone at the LBCC courts courtside for the match finale.
The hotly-contested third set was knotted at seven-all before three straight points for UH made the score 10-7 and forced a LBSU timeout. The Beach scored the next two out of the break before Wagoner found paydirt with a back corner strike to stop the LBSU momentum. Amiatu's shot on the ensuing play again extended the lead in the set to three, but Long Beach State pounded the next trio of points to tie the match at 12 points apiece, and then again at 14. Back-to-back points for Amiatu sealed the win and sent Hawai'i to a frenzy with their first championship since 2018.
UH entered the day with No. 1 seed in Pool A, cruising to a 2-0 start on Thursday in the revamped Championship format to advance directly to the semifinals. The Rainbow Wahine were able to cruise to the finals after besting UC Davis their afternoon match, 3-0, as the single-elimination six-team bracket play was played to the clinching point. Hawai'i got points at the Nos. 2 and 1 positions before Burton and Lorenzo closed the dual on Court 5, 25-23, 21-16.
Defending champion and 2024 host Long Beach State took care of CSUN 3-0 to start the day. The Beach, Pool A's second seed, secured straight-set points on Courts 1 and 2 before the tandem of Carrington and Deroos finished off the match at the No. 4s, downing Taylor Buckley and Jill Rodig, 21-7, 21-18, to send LBSU into the semifinal round to take on Cal Poly.
The dual with the Mustangs was a battle, with LBSU's top flight again opening the scoring, and the No. 5 pair Megan Widener and Livi Narancich extending the Beach lead. Cal Poly rallied back On Courts 4 and 3 to knot the match before a three-setter at the No. 2 position proved to be the deciding point. Cal Poly's Piper Ferch and Erin Inskeep handily won the first 21-12, before Savannah Standage and Julia Westby evened the match with a 21-19 win in the second. Down to the wire, the Beach duo was able to pull out the 15-13 win in the third to clinch the match to send LBSU to the final for the second straight season.
Now, the Beach and Mustangs await the decision of the selection committee to see where The Big West will land in the bracket.
LBSU (28-9) headed into Championship week ranked No. 7 in the AVCA Coaches' Poll with Cal Poly (29-6) holding the fifth position in the listings and UH at No. 11. Should The Big West get three teams into the National Collegiate Championship, it will be a first. The league has enjoyed two teams in the bracket in each of the last two seasons and also had two participants back in 2019.