Thursday, March 5
Honolulu, HI
1:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
vs
San Jose State
Hannah Glick has won six straight matches for the Gaels
Photo by: WCC / Moira Sweeney
BVB | Gaels Return to Waikiki to Compete in Third Straight Heineken Queen’s Cup
3/5/2026 9:08:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
HONOLULU, Hawai'i — The Gaels are heading to the Aloha State, as for the third consecutive season, the Saint Mary's beach volleyball team will take part in the Heineken Queen's Cup on Queen's Beach in Waikiki. Off to their best start since 2018, the Gaels will look to make some noise in a tournament that they've won five games at over the last two seasons.
The Gaels have opened up their 2026 campaign as winners of six of their first eight games. Both of Saint Mary's losses have come to teams ranked within the top-three of the AVCA Coaches Poll. Last weekend at the Battle of the Bay Tournament, the Gaels went 3-1, with their lone loss coming at the hands of the top ranked team in the country, the Stanford Cardinal. Out of the #5 flight, senior Hannah Glick continues to impress, no matter who she's been paired with. The San Juan Capistrano native went unbeaten in her four matches on the week, running her season record to 7-1, including a six game unbeaten streak. Also of note, fellow senior Hannah Couch picked up wins number 63, 64 and 65 for her career, moving her to fourth all-time in program history for wins.
Saint Mary's will open up the Queen's Cup with a rematch against the San Jose State Spartans, who the Gaels bested on Spartan Beach last week, 3-2. The Spartans bounced back, however, to win each of their next two contests, and now sit at 3-3 for the year, under the direction of former Gael head coach Gary Hodge. The number three pairing of Grace Baker and Kaia Fanshier have paced the Spartans this year, going 4-2, including four straight victories. Including last week's win, the Gaels are 15-4 all-time against the Spartans.
Second on the docket on day one for the Gaels will be the UNC Wilmington Seahawks, in what will be the first all-time clash between these two programs. After a 2-0 start, UNCW has dropped four straight, in the second year of the David Fischer era. Last year, Coach Fischer's squad went 22-9 and finished as runners up in the Sun Belt, falling to 18th ranked Georgia State in the conference championship match. Out of the twos for the Seahawks, returning all-conference selection Gabby LaPata has paired with true freshman Hannah Parkinson, and the duo has combined to go 3-1 in the early going.
Day two will begin with the Gaels taking on host and 12th ranked Hawaii. The Rainbow Wahine are just 1-4 on the campaign, but their lone win of the season came against then No. 1 UCLA two weeks ago, marking quite the impressive first win for head coach Danny Alvarez. Emily Heintzelman and Sydney Miller have been the brightest spot for Coach Alvarez this season, going 3-2, with four of their five matches played in the fourth flight. Miller, a fourth year Wahine, has paired with the grad transfer Heintzelman to make a fearsome duo for Hawaii. The Gaels are winless in nine all-time meetings with Hawaii.
The Gaels will see a conference foe to round out day two of the Queen's Cup, taking on the Pepperdine Waves. Pepperdine sits at just 2-6 on the campaign, with all six losses coming at the hands of nationally ranked foes. Marcio Sicoli is in his eighth season leading the Waves, who were picked to finish second in the preseason WCC polls. The second flight Gabriella Perez and Madison Snow have gone a combined 4-4 for the year, the best record amongst Waves flights this season. The Gaels will look for just their third win in program history against the Waves, and their first since 2023 to cap off Friday.
Saturday, the Gaels will close things out with a pair of matchups against DII foes Chaminade and Concordia Irvine. Its just year three in program history for the Silver Swords of Chaminade, but after winning just seven and five games in their first two seasons, they are off to a strong 4-4 to start to open 2026. Concordia sits at 3-4 with an upset win over DI CSUN 3-2 to open their campaign. The Golden Eagles are defending national runners up at the AVCA Small College Championships.
#GaelsRise
The Gaels have opened up their 2026 campaign as winners of six of their first eight games. Both of Saint Mary's losses have come to teams ranked within the top-three of the AVCA Coaches Poll. Last weekend at the Battle of the Bay Tournament, the Gaels went 3-1, with their lone loss coming at the hands of the top ranked team in the country, the Stanford Cardinal. Out of the #5 flight, senior Hannah Glick continues to impress, no matter who she's been paired with. The San Juan Capistrano native went unbeaten in her four matches on the week, running her season record to 7-1, including a six game unbeaten streak. Also of note, fellow senior Hannah Couch picked up wins number 63, 64 and 65 for her career, moving her to fourth all-time in program history for wins.
Saint Mary's will open up the Queen's Cup with a rematch against the San Jose State Spartans, who the Gaels bested on Spartan Beach last week, 3-2. The Spartans bounced back, however, to win each of their next two contests, and now sit at 3-3 for the year, under the direction of former Gael head coach Gary Hodge. The number three pairing of Grace Baker and Kaia Fanshier have paced the Spartans this year, going 4-2, including four straight victories. Including last week's win, the Gaels are 15-4 all-time against the Spartans.
Second on the docket on day one for the Gaels will be the UNC Wilmington Seahawks, in what will be the first all-time clash between these two programs. After a 2-0 start, UNCW has dropped four straight, in the second year of the David Fischer era. Last year, Coach Fischer's squad went 22-9 and finished as runners up in the Sun Belt, falling to 18th ranked Georgia State in the conference championship match. Out of the twos for the Seahawks, returning all-conference selection Gabby LaPata has paired with true freshman Hannah Parkinson, and the duo has combined to go 3-1 in the early going.
Day two will begin with the Gaels taking on host and 12th ranked Hawaii. The Rainbow Wahine are just 1-4 on the campaign, but their lone win of the season came against then No. 1 UCLA two weeks ago, marking quite the impressive first win for head coach Danny Alvarez. Emily Heintzelman and Sydney Miller have been the brightest spot for Coach Alvarez this season, going 3-2, with four of their five matches played in the fourth flight. Miller, a fourth year Wahine, has paired with the grad transfer Heintzelman to make a fearsome duo for Hawaii. The Gaels are winless in nine all-time meetings with Hawaii.
The Gaels will see a conference foe to round out day two of the Queen's Cup, taking on the Pepperdine Waves. Pepperdine sits at just 2-6 on the campaign, with all six losses coming at the hands of nationally ranked foes. Marcio Sicoli is in his eighth season leading the Waves, who were picked to finish second in the preseason WCC polls. The second flight Gabriella Perez and Madison Snow have gone a combined 4-4 for the year, the best record amongst Waves flights this season. The Gaels will look for just their third win in program history against the Waves, and their first since 2023 to cap off Friday.
Saturday, the Gaels will close things out with a pair of matchups against DII foes Chaminade and Concordia Irvine. Its just year three in program history for the Silver Swords of Chaminade, but after winning just seven and five games in their first two seasons, they are off to a strong 4-4 to start to open 2026. Concordia sits at 3-4 with an upset win over DI CSUN 3-2 to open their campaign. The Golden Eagles are defending national runners up at the AVCA Small College Championships.
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
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