HOUSTON – Senior Kyra Henderson (Carlsbad, Calif.) and junior Haley Hutchinson (Georgetown, Texas) won their seventh consecutive match, but that was the only bright spot for the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team in a 4-1 loss the Houston Baptist Huskies on Thursday morning in Houston.
The Javelinas have suffered consecutive losses for the first time since February and they now have a record of 11-7.
Henderson and Hutchinson got the Javelinas on the board with a 21-15, 21-19 victory in the fourth flight that upped their record as a tandem to 8-3 this season. Danielle Wheeler and Mikayla Vivens responded by taking the No. 5 match, 21-16, 21-19 from senior Madeline Sims (Aztec, N.M.) and sophomore Loren Washington (Round Rock, Texas). The day's exhibition match was won by sophomore Maelee Sowa (Sealy, Texas) and freshman Shelby Tate (New Braunfels, Texas), 21-19, 21-19.
The top three flights all belonged to the Huskies, starting with a 21-16, 21-17 win by Jessica Wooten and Aeriel Horton over sophomore Gabby Atchely (Concord, Calif.) and freshmen Whitney Walker (Bellingham, Wash.) in the No. 1 match. Madison Brabham (Kingwood, Texas) and Macy Berg (San Antonio, Texas) were defeated in the second spot, 21-18, 21-15 and freshmen Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) and Erin Umbel saw their nine-match win streak snapped in a 21-19, 21-14 loss.
The Javelinas will quickly get a chance to erase the memory of this defeat, as they play twice on Friday, the first day of the LSU Beach Invitational. They'll square off against No. 15 Arizona at 11 a.m., followed by a 5 p.m. match against Central Arkansas. To stay up-to-date with everything related to Javelina beach volleyball, you can follow @JavelinaBeach on Twitter and Instagram and like the /JavelinaSports Facebook page.