Rainbow Forecast: Washington State to test Hawaii baseball; women’s basketball has first-place showdown; SandBows begin

With the exception of the top-ranked Hawaii men’s volleyball team, just about every other spring sport is in action this week.

That includes beach volleyball, which opens its 2020 season in the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic at Queen’s Beach. The SandBows begin at No. 5.

Scout the smorgasbord below and pick your spots, because there’s an absolute ton going on — though much of it takes place on the mainland for sports like water polo, swimming and women’s tennis.

The singular biggest game of the week goes to the Hawaii women’s basketball team, which hosts UC Davis with first place on the line on Saturday.

Men’s volleyball is off this week; the Rainbow Warriors host Nittaidai (Japan) in two exhibitions next week leading into its dual showdowns against No. 2 BYU in early March.

MONDAY
Baseball: North Dakota State (1-2) at Hawaii (4-1), 1:05 p.m. (KKEA 1420-AM)
The Rainbow Warriors defeated the Bison 8-0, taking the last three games of the series after dropping the opener.

TUESDAY
Men’s tennis: Washington (6-3) at Hawaii (4-4), 3 p.m., (Spectrum Sports)
It’s an unprecedented televised tennis matchup for reigning Big West Player of the Week Andre Ilagan and the Rainbow Warriors, who are coming off back to back dual match wins over Saint Mary’s. No UH tennis match has ever before been televised.

WEDNESDAY
Men’s and women’s swimming and diving: MPSF championships, all day
UH did something unprecedented last year under coach Dan Schemmel — it swept the men’s and women’s MPSF championships for the first time. With Schemmel gone to Stanford, UH will try to repeat the feat under new head coach Elliot Ptasnik, Schemmel’s former assistant, in the four-day event in Los Angeles. The UH women have won three straight MPSF titles while last year was the first for the men.

Women’s tennis: Hawaii (1-4) at San Diego State (4-2), noon
The Wahine continue their stay in Ron Burgundy’s city by facing the Aztecs. SDSU has already faced four Big West schools in dual matches and has gone 3-1 against them. UH is coming off a tough 4-3 loss to San Diego.

Water polo: No. 3 Hawaii (8-0) at Azusa Pacific (2-6), 3 p.m.
UH has its highest ranking in water polo in some time, as it moved up from fourth and into a tie for third with powerhouse USC. The Wahine have already met, and soundly defeated, Asuza in Tempe, Ariz., 17-4. You wouldn’t expect this one to go much differently, even in the Cougars’ pool.

Softball: British Columbia (1-3) at Hawaii (4-7), 6 p.m.
The Thunderbirds of the NAIA should make for a welcome easing back for the Rainbow Wahine to Rainbow Wahine softball stadium after a 2-4 showing at the Golden State Classic at Lake Elsinore, Calif. Three of those losses came by one run. UBC is here already, having already lost to HPU twice and with a twin bill against Chaminade the day before facing UH. The Wahine have counted on Washington transfer Nawai Kaupe, who last week hit .567 — a double and four home runs among her 13 hits.

THURSDAY
Men’s golf: John A. Burns Intercollegiate, all day
UH’s premiere tournament at Wailua Golf Club in Lihue could be a real doozy this year. The 44th running of the event includes four top-15 teams among the 21 schools competing — No. 6 Arizona, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 14 North Carolina, and No. 15 BYU — and another nine schools rated in the top 100 nationally.

Men’s and women’s swimming and diving: MPSF championships, all day
Event continues.

Softball: Portland State (3-7) at Hawaii, 6 p.m.
The Vikings were actually also just at the same event UH was, the Golden State Classic, although the teams did not meet. UH opens the four-team Hawaii invitational against the Big Sky school.

Men’s basketball: Hawaii (14-10, 5-5 Big West) at UC Riverside (14-13, 4-7), 6 p.m. (ESPNU, KKEA 1420-AM)
Is this where the bleeding stops, or will the Highlanders add to what has been a couple weeks of misery for the Rainbow Warriors? Riverside, too, has struggled of late, dropping four straight just like UH. However, David Patrick’s team held a late lead against league leader UC Irvine last Wednesday, only for UCI to close out the game on a 15-3 run to win 63-59. They followed that up with a 65-63 overtime loss at Long Beach State. It was looking like a breakthrough year for UCR before the recent struggles. One team will plant the flag on this game as a possible turnaround point for a late-season run.

Baseball: Washington State (1-3) at Hawaii (5-1), 6:35 p.m. (KHKA 1500-AM)
UH is undoubtedly feeling good about itself with the way it wrapped up the series against North Dakota State, scoring eight-plus runs in each of the last three games to go with some solid pitching. You’d expect Logan Pouelsen, who pitched well in the series-opening loss to NDSU, to get the nod again in Game 1. It’s not saying too much, but this Pac-12 opponent is UH’s toughest test so far — despite the fact that Wazzu lost two of three against Cal State Bakersfield in its season-opening series and dropped a stand-alone game at CSUN on Monday before heading out to the islands.

FRIDAY
Men’s golf: John A. Burns Intercollegiate, all day
Event continues.

Men’s and women’s swimming and diving: MPSF championships, all day
Event continues.

Women’s tennis: Hawaii vs. USC (4-2), 7 a.m.
Interestingly, UH lists this dual match on its schedule and the Trojans do not.

Water polo: Hawaii vs. UC Davis, 11:45 a.m.
UH faces the Aggies first at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational at Irvine. This does not count as a Big West match.

Softball: UMKC (2-3) at Hawaii, 6 p.m.
The Kangaroos go right from one tournament to the next, having just played Texas-Arlington’s Maverick Classic.

Baseball: Washington State at Hawaii, 6:35 p.m. (KKEA 1420-AM)
Aaron Davenport got the Game 2 start against NDSU and delivered, striking out eight in six innings, giving up two runs.

SATURDAY
Men’s golf: John A. Burns Intercollegiate, all day
Event continues.

Women’s golf: Grand Canyon Invitational, all day
The Wahine play this two-day event in Phoenix, Ariz., after its last event, UC Riverside’s Battle at the Rock, was canceled due to high winds.

Men’s and women’s swimming and diving: MPSF championships, all day
Event concludes.

Water polo: Hawaii vs. TBD, TBD
The Barbara Kalbus Invitational concludes against an opponent to be announced. Long Beach State and UC Irvine are in the field.

Beach volleyball: No. 1 UCLA at No. 5 Hawaii, 9 a.m.; No. 19 Stanford at No. 5 Hawaii, noon; No. 3 LSU at No. 5 Hawaii, 4:30 p.m.
UH dives straight into the sand at Queen’s. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more quality field than this on the first weekend of the season. UH features six indoor players stepping outdoors this year — Brooke Van Sickle, Jolie Rasmussen, Hanna Hellvig, Norene Iosia, Janelle Gong, Kamalei Krug and Riley Wagoner.

Softball: Iowa (7-2) at Hawaii, noon; Hawaii Invitational semifinals, 2 p.m. or 4 p.m.
The Hawkeyes, the favorite for this week’s tournament, have dropped only two games to Atlantic Coast Conference competition, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.

Men’s basketball: Hawaii at Long Beach State (9-17, 4-6), 2 p.m. (ESPN3, KKEA 1420-AM)
UH got its breakthrough win at the Walter Pyramid last year, the last place in the league it had never won as a visiting Big West member. It would appear to be up for grabs again, but not if UH plays as poorly as it did against the Beach at the Stan Sheriff Center in a painful 50-49 loss last week. Michael Carter III, who had the game-winning free throw with three seconds left at the SSC, followed that up with the game-winning jumper in OT against UC Riverside on Saturday.

Baseball: Washington State at Hawaii, 6:35 p.m. (KKEA 1420-AM)
Cade Smith got the start in Game 3 last week, but it was Buddie Pindel picking up the win with four innings of relief during which he struck out seven.

Women’s basketball: UC Davis (14-10, 9-2 Big West) at Hawaii (14-10, 8-3), 7 p.m. (Spectrum Sports, KHKA 1500-AM)
The showdown. This game could well determine which team — the defending champs or the upstart Wahine — takes the 1 seed in the Big West tournament. Right now, it’s these two teams and everyone else. Davis won 62-49 at the Pavilion on Jan. 11, but Laura Beeman’s squad feels like a totally different team since then, having won six straight, the program’s longest since seven in 2015-16. UH allowed itself to fall too far behind in the last matchup, but it showed itself capable of coming back in last week’s win over CSUN. Amy Atwell needs four 3s to break Megan Tinnin’s single-season record of 55, while Julissa Tago needs five.

SUNDAY
Women’s water polo: Hawaii vs. TBD, TBD
Event concludes.

Women’s golf: Grand Canyon Invitational, all day
Event concludes.

Beach volleyball: Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic semifinals, 10:30 a.m. or noon; consolation or final, 1:30 p.m. or 3 p.m.
UH will get more matches in against ranked opponents. It could be a chance to move into the top three.

Softball: Hawaii Invitational bracket games, noon or 2 p.m.
UH will face Iowa, UMKC or Portland State again in either the third-place game or the tournament championship.

Baseball: Washington State at Hawaii, 1:05 p.m. (KKEA 1420-AM)
Brandon Ross got the win in three innings of his start against NDSU on Monday. Li‘i Pontes also pitched three scoreless.