Hawaii beach volleyball: 3 SandBows pairs earn AVCA Top Flight awards

Three pairs from Hawaii were named AVCA Top Flight Award winners today, a program that recognizes success regardless of flight.

The duo of Morgan Martin and Pani Napoleon  (21-1) had the second-best winning percentage in the nation at the No. 3 flight. Hawaii’s No. 1 pair of Emily Maglio and Amy Ozee (20-6) and the No. 2 pair of  Ari Homayun and Julia Scoles (19-4) also achieved top-flight status while ranking in the top 10 in win percentage.

Last season, all five Hawaii pairs earned Top Flight awards: Morgan Martin-Lea Monkhouse are a nation-best 19-0 at No. 2. The other pairs were No. 1 Emily Maglio/Ka’iwi Schucht, No. 3 Carly Kan/Laurel Weaver, No. 4 Ari Homayun/Amy Ozee) and No. 5 Paige Dreeuws/Hannah Zalopany

In order for a pair to be eligible for the award, two athletes must compete in at least 15 matches together and at a specific flight number. Should that pair win at least 75 percent of their matche —regardless of the overall team result of the dual — they achieve “Top Flight” status.

Seventh-seeded Hawaii (26-7) is in Gulf Shores, Ala., for the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship.SandBows open up against No. 2 seed UCLA (31-3) on Friday at 6 a.m. Hawaii Time in a match televised on ESPNU and streamed on ESPN3.