KINGSVILLE, Texas – The 2019 regular season is coming to a close for the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team, but the Javelinas are afforded one more opportunity to play at home as they'll host the Kingsville Beach Bash, which will be held on Friday and Saturday at the Javelina Beach Courts in Kingsville, Texas
For TAMUK, the weekend will start on Friday morning with a 10 a.m. match against the Park University Pirates, followed by a 4 p.m. clash with Arizona State. Saturday will include a 9 a.m. meeting with Park and a 3 p.m. contest with Abilene Christian.
The Javelinas will also be honoring a pair of their student-athletes on Saturday, when the program will hold its Senior Day ceremonies to recognize Madison Brabham (Kingwood, Texas) and Haley Hutchinson (Georgetown, Texas).
Hutchinson and Brabham, who concluded excellent careers with TAMUK's indoor volleyball team in November, have been with the program for all three years of its existence and own the top two spots on the team's all-time wins list.
"Haley and I will be lifelong friends," said Brabham. "It's sad to think we won't be together next year, but we've had a great time together and made some great memories. We're so thankful we've had the opportunity to play both indoor and beach together."
Hutchinson owns 46 career victories and has compiled a record of 35-16 over the last two seasons. As a junior, the Georgetown native went 21-9 and teamed with Kyra Henderson to defeat 10 tandems from Division I teams, including pairings that represented the Arizona Wildcats and the Alabama-Birmingham Blazers. In 2019, she's teamed with sophomore Macy Berg (San Antonio, Texas) to post the nation's 14th-best record out of the third flight, going 14-7.
Brabham is not far behind her classmate with 44 triumphs. She's played in every flight during her three years with the Javelinas, starting her first year in the sixth flight and beginning her senior year in the No. 1 spot. During her team's run to a national title, Brabham and Berg, in the No. 2 slot, were one of only two tandems to win every match at the American Volleyball Coaches Association Championships.
Brabham has teamed with freshman Kylexus Block (San Antonio, Texas) during her senior season and they've crafted a 13-4 mark in flight No. 2, which ranks eighth in the nation.
"I think our relationship has grown," said Brabham, "and we click better on the court. I think we've learned each other's style of play as the season's continued."
Park University is in the same place TAMUK was two years ago, in the midst of their inaugural season. So far, they've managed a record of 5-6 and the four matches they play in Kingsville will conclude that first year of competition.
The Sun Devils are currently receiving votes in the AVCA National Poll and have 15 wins against 12 losses in 2019. The fourth flight is where they've been the strongest, as that's where Kate Baldwin and Samantha Plaster have carved out a niche. Together, that pairing has amassed a 20-6 record, sixth best in nation.
Abilene Christian will undoubtedly be attempting to avenge a loss they suffered on March 29th at the hands of the Javelinas. That loss was part of a five-match losing streak for ACU to start the season. They have since snapped that skid, but will enter the weekend having lost three straight.
Live stats will be available for every match at the Kingsville Beach Bash and a recap of the action in Kingsville will be online at Javelinaathletics.com at the end of each day. To stay current with everything related to Javelina Beach Volleyball all season long, follow @JavelinaBeach on Twitter and @javelinasports and @JavelinaBeach on Instagram, like Javelina Sports on Facebook and visit Javelinasports.com.
