CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A come-from-behind victory by freshmen Lauren Kadilis (Spring Branch, Texas) and Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) in the fifth flight helped spur the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team to 3-2 victory over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders on Thursday morning in Corpus Christi, Texas. TAMUK's second match of the day was a 3-2 defeat against the San Jose State Spartans.
TAMUK vs. A&M-Corpus Christi
The Islanders looked to be in control in the early going, winning the opening set in each of the first three matches. They were able to turn two of those leads into wins, with Kylie Kvam and Fanny Ahman collecting the fourth flight and Olivia Rook and Kayla Walker triumphing in the exhibition match at No. 6.
Kadilis and Murff stole the momentum in the fifth match and forced a third set with a 21-15 second frame. They then jumped out to a 10-4 lead in third and cruised the rest of the way for a 19-21, 21-15, 15-10 final as the Javs pulled even.
In the day's second set of matches, TAMUK used its second and third pairings to lock up a season-opening win. Sophomore Macy Berg (San Antonio, Texas) and senior Haley Hutchinson (Georgetown, Texas) dominated the third flight to the tune of a 21-14, 21-8 final. Sophomores Whitney Walker (Bellingham, Wash.) and Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) provided the clincher in 21-19, 21-16 fashion.
TAMUK vs. San Jose State
The Spartans quickly gained a 2-0 advantage with victories in the fourth and fifth flights and they also took the exhibition matchup as well. Julia Golbeck and Sarah Smevog defeated Kadilis and Murff in straight sets, while Kaitlynn Zdroik and Thaliana Gradeja had to deal with a comeback effort from junior TaylorLynn Noga (Anchorage, Alaska) and freshman Christina Gragasin (Celina, Texas) in the fourth match. Noga and Gragasin bounced back after dropping the first set to take the second by six, but the final ended up being 21-12, 15-21, 15-5 in SJSU's favor.
The Spartans sealed their win by taking the top flight, 21-13, 21-14, but the Javelinas managed to battle back at No. 2 and No. 3. In each instance, the Blue and Gold pairing lost the first set, but outfought their opponents in a close second frame. Housler and Walker took the second set by two and controlled the decisive inning for a 17-21, 23-21, 15-8 final. Hutchinson and Berg posted a nearly identical score, but had a little easier time in the third set, triumphing 17-21, 23-21, 15-5.
A busy weekend continues on Friday, the first day of the Emerald Beach Hotel Classic at the Javelina Beach Courts. The Javelinas are scheduled to play three matches, with the first one beginning at 10 a.m. against Missouri Baptist. Fans can keep up with Javelina Beach Volleyball by following @JavelinaBeach on Twitter and @javelinasports and @JavelinaBeach on Instagram, liking Javelina Sports on Facebook and visiting Javelinasports.com.
