KINGSVILLE, Texas – After clinching a perfect record in their second home tournament of the season with a 3-2 victory over their neighbors at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team will visit Corpus Christi, Texas on Friday for a dual match with the Islanders that will begin at 3:30 p.m.
While TAMUK's beach program is in only its second season, the Javelinas and Isles are already quite familiar with each other. This will be the fifth time they've met since 2017 with one more meeting on tap before the season finishes up. The first clash between these programs came in Baton Rouge at LSU's Battle at the Bayou, and the Javs collected a 4-1 win. TAMCC visited Kingsville less than a week later and picked up what would be their only win in 2017, but coach Tanya Allen's team returned the favor when they visited Corpus for the final match on their 2017 schedule.
While the roster for both sides is very different, the rivalry remained just as intense when TAMUK and TAMCC tussled for the first time in 2018. In a match where four points or fewer separated opponents in six different sets, the Javelinas earned a 3-2 triumph that was clinched when freshmen Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) and Erin Umbel (Helotes, Texas) scratched out a 21-12, 19-21, 15-9 victory. In just their first season of collegiate play, Housler and Umbel own the Javelinas' best record at 13-3. Playing out of the No. 3 flight all year, the two have now won eight straight, including all four of their matches during Kingsville's last event, the Emerald Beach Tournament.
Housler and Umbel aren't the only two Javelinas who enter Corpus Christi on a hot streak, however. In the second spot, freshman Macy Berg (San Antonio, Texas) and junior Madison Brabham (Kingwood, Texas) have won five straight, pushing their season record to 11-5. During those five victories, Brabham and Berg have not dropped a single set. Matching their teammates' five-match win streak are junior Haley Hutchinson (Georgetown, Texas) and senior Kyra Henderson (Carlsbad, Calif.). Their toughest task over the course of those five matches came on Sunday against the University of New Orleans, a contest that went to a third set. A 6-0 run to begin that final frame helped Hutchinson and Henderson put the match in the win column.
After posting a record of 1-16 a year ago, the Islanders have already won four times in 2018 and the Javelinas were the only team to defeat coach Gayle Stammer's crew in Kingsville. One of the main reasons for Corpus Christi's success at the Emerald Beach Invitational was the play of their top pairing, Selina Marolf and Abigail DeVido, who put together a record of 4-0. Out of the third flight, Madi Fitzsimmons and Demi McInnis had perfect record at the invitational until they ran into Housler and Umbel, who dealt them their only loss of the weekend.
Once Friday's match concludes, Javelinaathletics.com is your source for a complete recap and results. To stay up-to-date with everything related to Javelina beach volleyball all season long, visit Javelinaathletics.com, follow @JavelinaBeach on Twitter and @JavelinaBeach on Instagram and like the /JavelinaSports Facebook page.
