MORAGA, Calif. — After a strong 4-2 start to the year, the Gaels will leave California for the first time this season, heading to the Aloha State to take part in the Heineken Queen's Cup, hosted by the 12th ranked University of Hawaii. This three day tournament will feature six teams (Saint Mary's, Hawaii, Nebraska, Boise State, Pepperdine, Chaminade). The first two days will be scheduled pool play before bracket play begins on Saturday. The Gaels have guaranteed matchups on day one with Boise State and Chaminade, and on day two with Hawaii and Nebraska. Live scoring can be found here.

Last weekend, the Gaels competed in the Battle of the Bay, hosted by Stanford. The Gaels put together a stellar 3-1 weekend, with all four of their games decided by 3-2 scorelines. Saint Mary's defeated San Jose State, UC Davis and Oregon, and fell to sixth ranked TCU. Playing out of the #5 spot, Paola Peralta and Nya Crump went unbeaten on the weekend, earning Shamrock Office Solution Student Athlete of the Week honors. Playing out of the #2 spot, Hawley Harrer and Hannah Couch went 3-1 last week. 

Boise State is off to a strong start at 7-3, with two losses to 20th ranked Arizona and one to 14th ranked Grand Canyon. The Broncos also notched a signature early season win over RV Pepperdine, 4-1. Allison Voigt is in her sixth season at the helm of the Broncos program, and has amassed a record of 72-42 in her time. The #5 pairing of Sharli O'Neil and Elli Wolthuis has been the standout on the young season, dropping just one of their 10 matches so far this season. Wolthuis is a returning All-Southland Conference honoree from a year ago, while O'Neil has seen her role grow now in her third season with the program. The Gaels have never lost to the Broncos, defeating them in their only two matchups in 2014 (4-1) and 2016 (3-2). 

Chaminade has played just one match in its inaugural season, defeating in-state rival Hawaii Pacific 4-1. Head Coach Kahala Kabalis Hoke has been the head indoor coach at Chaminade for 12 seasons, and has continued that role while also taking on beach volleyball head coaching duties. In their lone match, flight 2-5 all earned victories for the Silver Swords, with the most dominant win coming out of the #4 spot from Leilani Ama and Grace Talpash. A pair of gifted indoor player, Ama was named the AVCA DII Freshman of the Year as the starting setter for the Silver Swords, while Talpash played defensive specialist for three seasons at Oklahoma and one at San Francisco. This will be the first ever clash between the two schools. 

Hawaii comes into the tournament ranked #12 in the country, but lost all five of their matches to open their season at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic. Those five losses, however, came at the hands of #6 LMU, #1 UCLA (x2), #2 Stanford and #3 USC. Picking up wins on the young season for the Rainbow Wahine have been the #1 pair of Jaime Santer and Alana Embry and the #4 pair of Sydney Amiatu and Riley Wagoner. If anyone can right the ship for Hawaii, it is Head Coach Evan Silberstein, now in his second season as the full-time head coach. Silberstein served as the Bows' interim Head Coach in 2022, leading the squad to the NCAA Tournament and earning Big West Co-Coach of the Year honors. In his three seasons at the helm, Hawaii is 51-31. In seven all-time meetings, the Gaels have never beaten Hawaii. 

Known for its beautiful (indoor) beach, Nebraska will be the Gaels final opponent in pool play. The Huskers are 8-3 on the season. Starting his second season at the helm, Head Coach Jaylen Reyes is already off to a blistering start in his head coaching career with a 23-8 record. The team returns the program's all-time winningest duo of Rebekah Allick and Lexi Rodriguez. This will mark the first ever meeting between the Gaels and Nebraska. 

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