KINGSVILLE, Texas – After settling for National Runner-Up status in 2019 and seeing their 2020 season cut short, the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team will have another opportunity to recapture the National Championship they earned three years ago during a 2021 campaign that will begin with four matches at home as part of the TAMUK Tournament, which will be held on Friday and Saturday at the Javelina Beach Courts in Kingsville, Texas.
The season's first day will bring with it a 12 p.m. matchup against the Ottawa Braves and a 4 p.m. meeting with the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. On Saturday, the Javs will tangle with the Braves again, this time at 9 a.m., then take on the Lumberjacks at 11 a.m.
"I really feel like this is a special group," said coach Tanya Allen. "We have a lot of talent, a lot competitions between positions. It's been difficult to try and iron out who our pairs are going to be and that's one of the best problems you can have as a coach. We have so much talent and we're trying to figure out the best chemistry and how we can have strength from top to bottom. We need wins at every single pair."
Both of these squads also opened their 2020 schedules in Kingsville and the Javelinas defeated each one as part of an 8-4 start to the year that also included triumphs over Nebraska and Abilene Christian.
The breakout pairing of that truncated 2020 campaign consisted of two of Allen's freshmen, Emily North (Red Oak, Texas) and Macie Satterwhite (Callisburg, Texas), who went 9-2 for the Javs out of the fourth flight. They started the season by winning 13 consecutive sets, a streak that included a sweep of a pair from No. 15 TCU.
The Javelinas also got nine victories out of the second flight a season ago, thanks to junior Macy Berg (San Antonio, Texas) and junior Meghan Merlino (Sacramento, Calif.), who went 9-3 together. Three of those victories came in matches in which Berg and Merlino dropped the first set before coming back to win and the first in that trio was a triumph over a Nebraska pairing that included indoor volleyball All-American Lexi Sun.
Berg's nine victories in 2020 put her at 51 for her Javelina career, the same number as teammate Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) and third-most in program history. These two players will be battling to see who will be the first to break the school record for career victories, which stands at 55 and was set by Haley Hutchinson.
TAMUK's two opponents in this event are a pair of programs still trying to find their footing in the sand. SFA's program is in just its second year of existence, but they managed to put together 7-5 record in year one. Heading into their fourth season, the Braves are still attempting to post a winning mark for the first time. They'll also be attempting to avenge a pair of losses to the Javelinas, the first of which came in 2018.
For complete coverage the opening weekend of TAMUK's 2021 season, including live stats and a recap at the end of each day, visit Javelinaathletics.com. Fans can stay up-to-date with everything related to Javelina beach volleyball during the season by following @JavelinaBeach and @JavelinaSports on Twitter and Instagram, liking the Javelina Sports Facebook page, subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube Channel and visiting Javelinathletics.com. Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy.
