BATON ROUGE, La. – For the second time in 2018, the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team took down a squad that is receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll, scoring a 3-2 victory over the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers on Saturday afternoon in Baton Rouge, La. The Javelinas closed out the day with 5-0 loss to No. 10 LSU.
TAMUK now owns a mark of 12-10 in 2018.
"I'm very proud of the team," said coach Tanya Allen. "We showed real improvements and we battled with some very talented teams."
TAMUK vs. UAB
The Javs opened the day with a bang, going up against a UAB team that was less than a week removed from upsetting the No. 8 South Carolina Gamecocks.
The Blazers won the fifth flight to take the contest's first lead and they seemed poised to increase that advantage when Kaylee McClure and Tressa Buckland won the first set in the fourth matchup, but senior Kyra Henderson (Carlsbad, Calif.) and junior Haley Hutchinson (Georgetown, Texas) mounted a comeback. Kingsville's No. 4 tandem rebounded with 21-16 equalizer and proceeded to dominate the third and final set by a score of 15-6, drawing the Javelinas level with the Blazers
In the No. 2 match, freshman Macy Berg (San Antonio, Texas) and junior Madison Brabham (Kingwood, Texas) cruised past Haley Jared and Avei Logoleo, 21-11, 21-13. Freshman Erin Umbel (Helotes, Texas) and Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) had to work overtime in their first set, but squeaked past Erin Bognar and Emily Martinez, 22-20, before taking the second set, 21-14, securing the match for the Javelinas. UAB's Devon May and Kenley Adams were able to collect a win in the top flight, but it proved to be only a formality.
"We did a really good job attacking," said Allen. "Our No. 2, 3, and 4 pairs had very good offensive production, especially out of serve receive."
For coach Allen and her team, this was their second win in 2018 over a team that was receiving votes nationally. Their first such triumph came on March 10th in the form of a 5-0 victory over Florida Southern.
TAMUK vs. LSU
The Javelinas faced another tall task in their final match of the weekend, which pit them against the country's No. 10 team.
The Tigers moved out to a 2-0 lead when Lilly Kessler and Kahlee York defeated sophomore Loren Washington (Round Rock, Texas) and senior Madeline Sims (Aztec, N.M.), 21-11, 21-7 in the fifth slot and Megan Davenport and Maddie Ligon downed Henderson and Hutchinson out of No. 4, 21-8, 21-14. LSU also took the sixth match, with sophomore Kadi Shipman (Georgetown, Texas) and freshman Shelby Tate (New Braunfels, Texas) suffering a 21-5, 21-12, defeat to Gina Tillis and Emily Hardesty.
The Tigers secured the match with triumphs in the final three flights. Claire Coppola and Kristen Nuss topped freshman Whitney Walker (Bellingham, Wash.) and sophomore Gabby Atchley (Concord, Calif.), 21-10, 21-6. Housler and Umber were knocked off, 21-16, 21-12 and, despite winning the first set, Brabham and Berg also fell, 18-21, 21-13, 15-12.
Up next on Kingsville's schedule are the AVCA Small College National Championships, which are set for April 7th and 8th in Tavares, Fla,. and the Javelinas will be to compete on both days. To stay up-to-date with everything related to Javelina beach volleyball, you can also follow @JavelinaBeach on Twitter and Instagram and like the /JavelinaSports Facebook page.
