HONOLULU — Ice towels and ice cubes. Liquid hydration packs and sand socks.
Yes, sand socks.
The Hawaii beach volleyball team turned to myriad means to beat the heat and turn back nemesis Cal Poly, 4-1, in the Big West tournament semifinal round at Queen’s Beach on Friday.
It was a noon match on a cloudless day, making for the team’s hottest match of the year. Still, UH feels it has an advantage over its Big West peers playing in the deep, slippery sand at Queen’s, where it practices twice a week.
But usually in the early mornings – not a high noon with temperatures in the mid-80s.
“You can feel the blistering heat through the sand socks, so that’s lovely,” said UH’s Brooke Van Sickle, who teamed with Kaylee Glagau to win in straight sets at the No. 1 court, 21-19, 21-15 over Jayelin Lombard and Piper Naess. “But definitely they help big time.”
They did enough. UH (27-6) and Long Beach State (22-14) will play at 9 a.m. Saturday at Queen’s in the winner’s bracket final with the winner going straight to the championship match at 1:30 p.m. The loser will have to battle back through the bottom bracket in the double-elimination tournament, where UC Davis and Cal Poly are waiting, to get to the overall final. A rematch will be held at 3 p.m. if necessary.
In the first BWC beach tournament hosted by UH since 2018 – also the last year the Rainbow Wahine won it – the Wahine got it started by dealing a blow to the program that has stood in the way of conference titles in the last few years.
Fifth-seeded Cal Poly (12-24), winner of the last three Big West tournaments, lost to UH for the fourth time in a down year. UH had an agonizingly close loss to the Mustangs in last year’s tournament.
“It feels great,” coach Evan Silberstein said. “It’s not their greatest year, but they are a great program with great coaches and athletes. So to get a 4-1 on them today and get that done and move ourselves into winners bracket final, that’s what it’s all about for us.”
Silberstein has emphasized calmness and breathing through stress during the teams’ frequent side changes during matches. That, he figures, will help minimize points given away due to lack of focus.
For Van Sickle, the collegiate indoor and beach volleyball veteran in her final season, her source of zen is Glagau, with whom she is 28-2 this season.
“It might seem close and stressful, but being next to her, it’s just calm,” Van Sickle said. “I value that big time and she’s just a great partner. No matter what we know we’re going to be able to take care of our stuff.”
The Mustangs swapped their usual Nos. 1 and 2 teams, making for a tough match for UH’s Riley Wagoner and Kylin Loker at No. 2, where the Mustangs prevailed in a three-setter.
UH won in straight sets at the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 courts behind the teams of Ilihia Huddleston and Jaime Santer, Sarah Burton and Lea Kruse, and Chandler Cowell and Sydney Miller.
UH beat LBSU in all three prior meetings this season, but they were all close matches at 3-2.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.