Goalie Bridget Layburn scores game winner as Hawaii stuns No. 3 Cal

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser
·4 min read
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Mar. 26—Hawaii goalie Bridget Layburn launched a shot the length of the pool and into an empty goal to give the fifth-ranked Rainbow Wahine water polo team a stunning 9-8 upset of No. 3 California in overtime on Saturday at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.

Hawaii goalie Bridget Layburn launched a shot the length of the pool and into an empty goal to give the fifth-ranked Rainbow Wahine water polo team a stunning 9-8 upset of No. 3 California in overtime on Saturday at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.

UH and Cal ended regulation tied at 7-7 and the Golden Bears took the lead in the first overtime on Shea Salvino's second goal of the game. The Wahine tied it again when Bia Mantellato Dias beat the second OT buzzer to force a sudden-death period. Layburn ended the night by making the last of her seven saves, gathering the ball and firing it into the opposite goal as the buzzer sounded for her second score of the season for the Wahine (16-3 ).

Mantellato Dias and Alba Bonamusa Boix scored three goals each and Jordan Wedderburn added two for the Wahine, who avenged an 11-10 overtime loss to Cal last month.

Hawaii sweeps at Big West Challenge The No. 8 University of Hawaii beach volleyball team opened play at the Big West Challenge on Saturday at San Luis Obispo, Calif., going 3-0 against Cal State Northridge, Cal Poly and UC Davis.

In the first match of the day, the BeachBows (17-3 ) took all five matchups in straight sets against the Matadors (9-9 ). This included an impressive victory on Court 4, where Ilihia Huddleston and Jaime Santer defeated Gaby Greigo and Abbey Sweeting 21-15, 21-9.

In the second match of the day, Hawaii faced off with host Cal Poly (6-15 ), with the BeachBows again winning on all five courts. Hawaii was pushed to three sets on two of the courts, including on Court 3, where Anna Maidment and Sofia Russo outlasted Delaney Peranich and Brooke Golik 21-19, 22-24, 15-13 to preserve the shutout.

Hawaii's third match, against UC Davis, was far more competitive than the previous two. UC Davis (11-6 ) earned the first point of the matchup after Maidment and Russo dropped their match against Mia Olen and Megan Luly 21-18, 21-18. Hawaii won the next two matches, as Huddleston and Santer defeated Kate O'Steen and Sam Lazenby 21-14, 21-14 and Sydney Miller and Chandler Cowell beat Sydney Rau-Kim and Alicia Letvin 21-17, 21-15. Hawaii then clinched the match on the No. 1 court, where Brooke Van Sickle and Kaylee Glagau defeated Tabitha Mitchell and Finley Rollins 21-13, 17-21, 15-8.

The BeachBows will continue the Big West Challenge with another trio of matches today, taking on CSU Bakersfield, Sacramento State and No. 12 Long Beach State starting at 8 a.m.

Hawaii drops softball doubleheader The Rainbow Wahine softball team dropped both games in its doubleheader with Cal State Northridge on Saturday, falling 8-5 and 11-1 at Northridge, Calif.

In the first game, Hawaii (20-12, 3-3 Big West ) fell into an early hole after allowing five Matadors runs in the bottom of the first inning, erasing the 2-0 Hawaii lead. The Matadors (12-14, 4-2 ) took advantage of two Hawaii errors in the frame. CSUN added three runs in the fourth inning, giving it a lead that Hawaii could not overcome. UH made a late push in the fifth and sixth innings that drew the Wahine within three before Matadors pitcher Allie Gardiner retired the side in order in the seventh.

In the second game, the Matadors exploded out of the gates, scoring nine runs in the first inning, chasing Hawaii starter Brianna Lopez, who could only manage one out before Chloe Borges relieved her. The Matadors added two more runs in the fourth, pushing the lead out to 11-0 before Hawaii managed a single run in the top of the fifth to elude the shutout, but end the game via mercy rule.

Hawaii will return home for its next series : a three-game matchup with UC San Diego.