KINGSVILLE, Texas – Over their last two seasons, the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team has become the first women's program in school history to make consecutive appearances in their sport's national championship match. The goal of returning to the National Final remains the same for the Javelinas, but coach Tanya Allen will be relying on a lot of new faces to try and lead TAMUK back to the top.

For Allen and the Javelinas, their journey begins at home at the Kingsville Tourney, which takes place on Friday and Saturday at the Javelina Beach Courts in Kingsville, Texas. On the first day of the tournament, the Javs will face the Ottawa Braves at 11 a.m. and the Missouri Baptist Spartans at 5 p.m. Their Saturday schedule will consist of a 12:30 p.m. tilt against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks and a 1:30 p.m. clash with the Cedar Valley Suns.

"We've had a good preseason as far as practices go," said coach Tanya Allen. "We have a long stretch where we just get to practice, so I think the girls are anxious to get out in the sand and compete against someone who isn't their teammate. It'll be fun to see them compete and see a scoreboard out there and put their competitiveness to good use." 

There are 10 new faces on the 2020 edition of Javelina beach volleyball, a group that includes three freshman, one transfer and six student-athletes who joined the program after spending the fall on TAMUK's indoor volleyball roster.

"There are a lot of kids who are new to the game," said Allen. "They're very athletic and talented and they have a bright future, but they don't know everything they need to know. You have to break it down and teach them at every moment. We can't just rely on our athleticism."

Among those who will don the Blue and Gold in the sand for the first time are freshman Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas) and sophomore Roxanne Morris (Goliad, Texas). In just two seasons of playing indoor volleyball in Kingsville, Estrada has put together a mark of 0.97 blocks per set, fourth-highest in program history. She's also closing in on spots in the program's top 10 in total blocks and block assists. Morris was a contributor in just about every statistic for the Javs on the indoor court in 2020, including digs, where her total of 356 was second only to First-Team All-Lone Star Conference libero Nicole Murff.

One the student-athletes who will be completely new to Javelina fans is senior Shelby Williams. A native of New Braunfels, Williams spent her last four years at UT-San Antonio and never missed a match in her time with the Roadrunners. She led her team in aces in three different seasons and also racked up over 1,200 digs in the Alamo City before coming to Kingsville.

This fleet of newcomers will be attempting to gel with a group of returners that includes junior Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) and sophomore Christina Gragasin (Celina, Texas), both of whom have earned the honor of receiving American Volleyball Coaches Association Top Flight Awards. Housler garnered recognition as a freshman, going 23-7 out of the No. 3 spot, then moving to the top flight as a sophomore and logging 17 more victories. Gragasin spent most of her freshman season in the No. 5 slot, where she went 15-6 and her win total included triumphs over Louisiana-Monroe, Abilene Christian and TCU.

Housler's 44 victories as a Javelina put her within striking distance of Haley Hutchinson's career record of 55, but right on her heels is one of her fellow juniors, Macy Berg (San Antonio, Texas) with 42. No Javelina won more matches in 2019 than the 23 Berg helped pile up and that number included 10 triumphs over Division I opponents. This season, Allen's expectations for Berg, Housler and her other returners include more than simply winning.

"You have to rely on their leadership," said Allen. "The kids who've been around for a few years, Maelee Sowa is another one, they know what we're doing and understand what we expect from them. They understand the level of competition and the level of play we need from them. I think it's important that they step up and are leading everybody in the right direction."

For complete coverage of the first weekend the 2020 season, including live stats and a recap at the end of each day, visit Javelinaathletics.com. To stay current with everything related to Javelina Beach Volleyball all year long, follow @JavelinaBeach on Twitter and @javelinasports and @JavelinaBeach on Instagram, like Javelina Sports on Facebook and visit Javelinasports.com.