KINGSVILLE, Texas – On the first day of the 2020 season, the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team claimed 5-0 victories over the Ottawa Braves and the Missouri Baptist Spartans on the initial afternoon of the Kingsville Tourney on Friday at the Javelinas Beach Courts in Kingsville, Texas.
"Any wins are good wins," said coach Tanya Allen. "Today, we were down in a couple of matches and we were able to come back and get a three-set win. I think we're showing improvement, but it's the first day. There were some jitters and we have some chemistry issues to work out, but it was really good to see the team compete."
TAMUK vs. Ottawa
The Javelinas ran away with the first three flights to move ahead against the Braves. Junior Shelby Tate (New Braunfels, Texas) and freshman Rylie Anderson (Justin, Texas), playing in the fifth flight, raced out to a 15-3 lead in set one, then took the first 11 points in the second stanza en route to a 21-8, 21-10 triumph. Freshmen Macie Satterwhite (Callisburg, Texas) and Emily North (Red Oak, Texas) started their day in a similar fashion at No. 4, jumping in front 14-2 and cruising the rest of the way to a 21-7, 21-12 triumph. The sixth match went to seniors Melanie Casteel (Dallas, Texas) and Maelee Sowa (Sealy, Texas) 21-13, 21-9.
The second flight was owned by juniors Macy Berg (San Antonio, Texas) and Meghan Merlino (Sacramento, Calif.), who breezed to a 21-6, 21-7 win. The No. 1 and No. 3 contests were close throughout the first frame, but junior Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) and sophomore Roxanne Morris (Goliad, Texas) used an 8-3 run to pull away and take the first set, 21-14, then won the second 21-11. Junior Kapri Pelle (Auburn, Calif.) and senior Shelby Williams (New Braunfels, Texas) held off a comeback attempt in set one, then finished off the sweep, 21-17, 21-8.
TAMUK vs. Missouri Baptist
In three different matches, the Spartans took the first set from the home team, but TAMUK battled back in each instance and found a way to win.
North and Satterwhite got the Javs started in fourth flight, establishing an early, 14-7 edge and holding on to take the initial stanza, 21-14, then breaking a 5-5 tie by rattling off a 12-4 run and sealing the deal, 21-13. Tate and Anderson fell behind at No. 5, but battled back to even things at 21-23, 21-12. In the third set, the Spartans erased deficits to tie things at 4-4, then 11-11, but Tate and Anderson persevered and won 15-13. "In the first set," said Tate, "our serve receive was pretty bad and we couldn't really put away some shots. When we came back in the second set, we really calmed down. We took it one point at a time, focused on serve receive and then focused on siding-out."
Freshman Adrienne van Brunt (Corpus Christi, Texas) and senior TaylorLynn Noga (Anchorage, Alaska) secured the No. 6 match, 21-10, 21-9.
Berg and Merlino locked in their team's second victory by capturing the second flight, 21-13, 21-16, but two more comebacks completed the sweep. After dropping the opener by five, Housler and Morris dominated the rest of the way to secure a 16-21, 21-11, 15-3 final. Pelle and Williams then ensured a spotless day for the Javs with a bounce-back performance of their own, 16-21, 21-15, 15-6.
The Javelinas will be in action two more times on Saturday, first battling Stephen F. Austin at 12:30 p.m., then playing Cedar Valley College at 1:30 p.m. 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. Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy.
