HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i beach volleyball team released its 2019 schedule which once again has the Rainbow Wahine playing the very best teams in the nation, both at home and on the road.
 
The regular-season schedule features six of the seven teams that joined UH in last season's NCAA Championship. Meanwhile, UH will host three weekends of home matches against some the of the top teams, beginning with a visit by defending national champions UCLA in the season-opening Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic, Feb. 23-24, at Queen's Beach.
 
"We're excited for this year's schedule and look forward to playing the best teams from coast to coast," head coach Jeff Hall said. "Our program remains focused on championship results, both in the Big West and at the NCAAs. Our fans deserve it, our coaches prepare for it, and our players work relentlessly day in and day out to achieve it.  We can't wait for the season."
 
The SandBows will open the year against pair of its fiercest rivals in Pepperdine and UCLA competing in the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic. UH defeated the Waves in last year's NCAA Tournament, while falling to the Bruins in the national semifinals. Stanford and Saint Mary's also join the five-team tournament. It will mark the second straight year that UCLA and Stanford travel to Hawai'i to open the season.
 
Beside the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic, UH will host two other tournaments. Boise State, California and Nebraska arrive for the Heineken Hawai'i Invitational (March 16-17) and UH will also host Loyola Marymount, San Jose State, and Washington in the Queen's Cup (April 13-14).
 
UHs Senior Celebration will be April 15 versus Washington, while the SandBows will host its first-ever Alumnae event on April 20.
 
UH's first road trip of the season takes them to Manhattan Beach and a return trip to the East Meets West Invitational, March 9-10. UH will face NCAA tournament teams LSU and Florida International, as well as NCAA runner-up Florida State.
 
Other road matches include visits to Grand Canyon (March 21) and Arizona State (March 22) where they will face the host squads as well as neutral site matchups vs. USC and Pepperdine. The fourth annual Big West Challenge (March 30-31) will have seven teams—including newcomer UC Davis—competing at Pismo Beach.
 
Hawai' will seek its fourth consecutive Big West title at the Big West Championships, April 26-27, at Zuma Beach in Malibu. The NCAA championship is set for May 3-5 in Gulf Shores, Ala., marking the eighth straight year the championship will be held in the venue. UH finished third nationally last year with a school-record 37-5 mark.