TAVARES, Fla. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association Small College Beach Championships got off to a good start for the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team, which collected a pair of victories on the Friday, first trouncing the Stevenson Mustangs, then dropping the Eckerd Tritons, both by scores of 5-0, at the Hickory Point Beach Sand Volleyball Complex in Tavares, Fla.
Due to inclement weather, the third match the Javelinas were supposed to play on Friday, a matchup with the Saint Leo Lions, was postponed and will take place on Saturday at 9 a.m.
TAMUK vs. Stevenson
The tandems at No. 2 and No. 5 started the Javelinas on the path to the sweep. Senior Madison Brabham (Kingwood, Texas) and freshman Kylexus Block (San Antonio, Texas) won the second flight, 21-10, 21-12 and freshmen Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) and Christina Gragasin (Celina, Texas) triumphed by an identical score at No. 5.
Senior Haley Hutchinson (Georgetown, Texas) and sophomore Macy Berg (San Antonio, Texas) put the Javs up 3-0 when they secured the third flight, 21-14, 21-12. A tight contest ensued in the fourth match, but juniors Melanie Casteel (Dallas, Texas) and TaylorLynn Noga (Anchorage, Alaska) battled their way to a 21-19, 21-19 sweep. The finishing touches were applied by sophomores Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) and Whitney Walker in the No. 1 flight, 21-15, 14-21, 15-9.
TAMUK vs. Eckerd
The second match of the day for the Javelinas was a rematch of 2018's national championship bout against the Eckerd Tritons. The Javs began the contest up 2-0 due to Eckerd not fielding pairs in the fourth and fifth flights.
Walker and Housler easily picked up their second win of the day, 21-10, 21-14 and they were quickly followed by Hutchinson and Berg in the third flight, 21-9, 21-9. Brabham and Block required a few extra points in the No. 2 match, but clinched another 5-0 final with a 21-15, 23-21 victory.
Best of the Rest
The Javs also had a two pairings in the AVCA's Best of the Rest competition, in the tandems of Lauren Kadilis (Spring Branch, Texas) and Shelby Tate (New Braunfels, Texas) and Maelee Sowa (Sealy, Texas) and Kadi Shipman (Georgetown, Texas). While Sowa and Shipman suffered a close loss in their match, Kadilis and Tate bested a pair from the University of Tampa. They bounced back after dropping the first set and came out ahead, 19-21, 21-13, 15-8.
After TAMUK's matchup against Saint Leo, the challenge round of the tournament will begin, which will include two more matches to take place on Saturday. Those results will determine the single elimination bracket each team is placed in on Sunday.
