GOLD CANYON, Ariz. – Janae Leovao had a hole in one on the Par 3 17th at Superstition Mountain Golf Club, helping the junior finish in 11th place after the first of three rounds in the NCAA Regionals.
 
Day One Results
 
The ace from Janae Leovao capped a consistent day from the junior, who finished with an even par 72 in the first round to sit in a tie for 11th overall in the tournament.
 
Jasmine Leovao, also playing as an individual for Long Beach State in the tournament, had a back-and-forth start to the day with three bogeys but two birdies over the first five holes, but settled in and finished two-over par with a 74, tied for 21st overall as the two compete to advance to the NCAA Championship.
 
The top individual finisher not from an advancing team will be one of six individuals who will play at the NCAA Championship, hosted at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. from May 16-21. Jasmine Leovao was that top finisher at the NCAA Regionals in Cle Elum, Washington last season.
 
Action from round two Tuesday can be followed via SCOREBOARD at https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/236564/scoring/player.
 

Doha, Qatar: Doha is set to host the opening round of the West Asia Beach Volleyball Championship for men and women, from May 7 to May 10, with 19 teams from seven Arab countries taking part.

The countries participating in this round include Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, in addition to the host nation, Qatar.

A total of 11 men’s teams and 8 women’s teams will compete, with expectations of strong competition due to the closely matched skill levels of the teams.

The tournament will begin with a preliminary round held in a round-robin format, followed by knockout stages leading to the final match.

Teams will be seeded based on the official rankings and points approved by the sport’s governing body, with a draw taking place if teams are tied on points or if some teams do not have an official ranking.

Qatar will field three teams in the men’s competition: Qatar 1, featuring Mahmoud Essam and Saifuddin Al Majeed; Qatar 2, featuring Mehdi Samoud and Abdullah Naseem; and Qatar 3, featuring Mohamed Al Sharshani and Mohamed Ihab.

For the women’s competition, Qatar will also have three teams: Qatar 1, with Haya Abu Issa and Malak Hashem; Qatar 2, with Ladan Issa and Aisha Al Alawi; and Qatar 3, with Lujain Mahmoud and Sarah Jabbar.

 

Ava Carlson scored eight goals as Kamehameha trounced Mililani 22-4 in a first-round of the Kyoya Hotels/HHSAA Girls Water Polo State Championships on Monday.

The Warriors will play host to Hawaii Prep in the quarterfinals at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday.

Kiana Lee scored two goals for the Trojans.

In another quarterfinal on Thursday, Mid-Pacific, which beat Kamehameha- Maui 18-3 on Saturday, will play No. 2 Kaiser at 6 p.m.

Goal scorers—Kamehameha: Ava Carlson 8, Charlotte Nakagawa 2, Laikuakamahina Wong 2, Elsie Jubilee Kamanu 2, Kawena Neumann 2, Maya Meza 2, Lailaikuhonua Kaopua-Winchester 1, Kaya Pascual 1, Kaialea Tanner 1, Kale Pascua 1. Mililani: Kiana Lee 2 Sydney Yamamoto 1, Morgan Russell 1.

Roosevelt 15, Kamehameha-Hawaii 6

Kimberly Cassens put in five goals and Jayzlyn Tomisa and Malia Lauret added three goals apiece as the Rough Riders defeated the Big Island Warriors.

Roosevelt will face No. 4 Baldwin in the quarterfinals at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Kamehameha.

Goal scorers—Roosevelt: Kimberly Cassens 5, Jayzlyn Tomisa 3, Malia Lauret 3, Mia Hudson 2, Alisa Lee 1, Joyce Wong 1. KS-Hawaii: Oliliuwelaakawahine Wise 3, Kaopualani Puniwai-Ganoot 2, Lauren Kamauu 1.

Hilo 12, Kahuku 7

The Vikings defeated the Red Raiders to advance to Thursay’s quarterfinals. They play No. 1 Punahou at Kamehameha at 7:15 p.m.

No goal scorers were provided.

St. Johns County is reviewing plans for an 18,000-square-foot volleyball training facility in St. Augustine.

The facility is proposed at 6940 U.S. 1, about a mile south of the Publix Super Market in The Shoppes at Palencia Commons.

Andor Gyulai, a former professional beach volleyball player, is planning the facility. 

He and his wife, Vanessa Summers-Gyulai, are the founders of Volleyball1on1.com, a video coaching website the couple launched in 2009. The site features about 3,000 instructional videos and, according to its description, “a library of the best coaches and players in the world sharing their insider tips, techniques, and winning strategies.”

Gyulai said he recently reached 50,000 hours of volleyball coaching.

They relocated to the St. Johns County for its school system.

He and Venessa are parents of Thor, a Vedra High School volleyball player, Veda and Charlie.

“Our feeling is, we live in the best school district in Florida,” he said. “So wouldn’t it be great if you can just get the best volleyball?

According to Gyulai, volleyball coaches and trainers include contributors on the site include Al Scates, Alan Knipe, Brian Gimmillaro, Gary Sato and Sinjin Smith.

Pending approvals, construction could begin by the end of May, Gyulai said. Three indoor courts are initially planned, along with areas for workouts and meditation.

A possible 9,600-square-foot expansion could add three more courts and a $100,000 sound system for guest speakers.

Through its St. Johns Volleyball Club, the couple is now enrolling outdoor summer camps in Nocatee and Fruit Cove, he said. It is designed for youth players in grades four through eight.

For more information, visit stjohnsvolleyballclub.com.

Matthews | DCCM is the civil engineer for the volleyball training facility.

Gyulai said he closed on the 2.4-acre property May 29 for about $1.3 million. It’s not yet recorded with the St. Johns County Property Appraiser.

 

HONOLULU — Once was enough.

That’s all the time that Hawaii water polo coach James Robinson dispensed to last year’s NCAA Tournament semifinal loss to California, in which the Rainbow Wahine scored only twice on 17 on power-play opportunities in a 9-6 outcome.

That hard-to-believe statistic, if it came up this week, won’t be mentioned again before the teams rematch in the NCAA quarterfinals in Indianapolis, Ind.

“We spoke about our last meeting with Cal last year, one time,” Robinson, the Big West Coach of the Year in his first season leading the program, said Monday moments before the team embarked from the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex for the airport. “It was really just where we fell short. Haven’t touched a whole lot on when we played them earlier this year. … It’s (about) being present right here, right now.”

Big West champion UH (21-4), the fourth seed in the nine-team field, faces MPSF semifinalist Cal (19-5) at 8 a.m. Hawaii time in a game to be livestreamed on NCAA.com. The Wahine were to fly out Monday for Chicago and catch a short connecting flight to Indianapolis.

BWC Player of the Year Bernadette Doyle has traveled long distances to get from her homeland of New Zealand to compete at UH and around the world for her nation, but this will be the senior’s longest career road trip from the islands to the mainland.

Robinson was confident his group would settle in quickly at IUPUI’s IU Natatorium, the largest indoor aquatic facility in the U.S. with a capacity of 4,700.

UH, which is coming off its first back-to-back conference tournament championships, is wary of Cal’s up-tempo attack in the Manoa program’s ninth all-time NCAA appearance. The Wahine edged the Golden Bears, 12-11, in a meeting in Irvine, Calif., in March.

For nonconference foes, the two programs are about as familiar as you can get, having gone 3-3 against each other over the last six seasons.

Robinson was around at UH as an assistant to Maureen Cole for the last two before taking over as her chosen successor this season.

“They have a lot of talent. They’re deep,” Robinson said of Cal, coached by former UH assistant Coralie Simmons. “I think they play the game at a very fast pace, so that’s difficult to keep up with over the course of four quarters. What they do is very effective. They push transition. Put a lot of pressure on you, so it is nice that our team has some experience against them. It’s not going to be such a surprise, you hope, at this time of the year.”

UH plays a decidedly more deliberate style. Doyle said it will be about finding a balance between counterattacking and not falling into the Bears’ preferred pace.

“We really need to go out there wanting to attack,” Doyle said. “I think we saw even in the Long Beach (Big West championship) game, that when we stopped attacking, our defense started to get worse. So we need to make sure that, obviously, we need to go out there firing, but being also patient with our attack.”

Robinson emphasized that it will take everyone to advance in the tournament, including his reserves. But he allowed that the 5-foot-6 Doyle, with her capacity to affect the game on either end as a disruptive defensive player and lethal counterattacker, is at the top of the list.

Doyle has 53 goals, 38 assists, 51 steals and 13 field blocks on the season.

“For her to be able to play defense like she’s been playing all season is going to be a massive part,” Robinson said. “Pushing in transition, pushing pace. Obviously, that’s where she is really, really effective, so she’s gonna have to do that, but that’s gonna take her and the rest of the team as well.”

Doyle is accompanied by her younger sister Gabrielle, who was named to the BWC All-Freshman team.

“Just go out there and give it your all and be fearless,” Bernadette Doyle said of what she’d advise Gabrielle. “Take your moments and yeah, give it everything you’ve got.”

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.

A haul of awards awaited the Hawaii men’s volleyball team when it arrived in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday afternoon.

The American Volleyball Coaches Association bestowed postseason honors on five Rainbow Warriors — hitter Adrien Roure and setter Tread Rosenthal made the first team, opposite Kristian Titriyski was named a second-teamer, and middle Kurt Nusterer and libero ‘Eleu Choy were named honorable mentions.

UH (26-5) flew commercial overnight Sunday to Phoenix and caught a connection to Columbus on Monday morning ahead of their NCAA Tournament quarterfinal against Penn State (15-15) at Ohio State’s Covelli Center on Thursday.

UH’s five total AVCA award recipients tied for second-most in program history. UH got six in 2023.

“Great to see the guys get recognized for their performance,” coach Charlie Wade said in a video from Columbus distributed by UH. “Super proud of guys like Kurt and ‘Eleu, (former) walk-ons that have literally become some of the best players in the country. Tread, Adrien and Kristian have been dominant since the day they stepped foot on the court. Nice to see some recognition.”

Rosenthal upgraded his showing from honorable mention as a true freshman last season. The Austin, Texas, native, was one of three setters on the first team along with Long Beach State’s Moni Nikolov and UCLA’s Andrew Rowan. He has guided the nation’s fifth-most efficient offense (.343) and is third in assists per set (10.65).

“It’s a big honor,” Rosenthal said in UH’s video. “Honestly, for me, it’s more exciting to see the other guys make it, because I think every other guy is a new guy to get to All-American status. It’s really good to just see a whole team effort of really good players.”

Roure, of Lyon, France, leads UH in double-digit-kill matches with 20 in 30 starts. The Big West tournament MVP was one of two freshmen on the first team.

“I was actually surprised,” Roure said. “I was hoping to make it to maybe second team, but first team, I feel really grateful. Especially because there’s only two freshmen on the 12-player (team). So, really blessed.”

Wade described Titriyski, who has been out for a month with an ankle injury, as “day to day” as the team left for the road from the Stan Sheriff Center on Sunday night, but noted the Bulgarian was a full practice participant on Friday.

Titriyski led UH in kills (4.24), points (5.50) and aces (0.45) per set before he got hurt.

Nusterer, of Indianapolis, Ind., expects to have considerable family and friend support in Columbus. He led UH in blocks per set at 1.02.

Choy, a Farrington High graduate of the Waialae area, leads UH with 1.68 digs per set and is the only player to have started all 31 matches.

LBSU’s Nikolov was named AVCA Newcomer of the Year. The AVCA’s remaining capital awards — player of the year, coach of the year, assistant coach of the year — will be announced in the coming days.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.