KINGSVILLE, Texas – Attempting to ride a wave of momentum following a 4-0 start to the their season, the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team will attempt to keep that success going when they travel to New Orleans for three matches as part of the Bayou Beach Duels, which will begin on Friday for the Javelinas, when they'll take on the Tulane Green Wave at 8:30 a.m. and the Spring Hill Badgers at 12:30 p.m. before tangling with the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The Javelinas reached 4-0 for the third time in program history by defeating the Ottawa Braves and Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks twice, going a combined 18-2 along the way. The only Javelina pairing to play in all four matches without dropping a set consisted of seniors Debra Rogers (Tulsa, Okla.) and Shelby Williams (New Braunfels, Texas), who played together in the third flight.
This represents a second straight season in which Williams has gotten off an excellent start. Last year, she teamed with Kapri Pelle (Auburn, Calif.) for five straight wins out of the starting blocks. Rogers, meanwhile, has made a quick transition to life in the sand in her first year in Kingsville after a four-year indoor volleyball career at Arkansas-Fort Smith that included a pair of all-conference selections and an Honorable Mention All-American spot in 2018
Also coming off a 4-0 weekend is the team of junior Meghan Merlino (Sacarmento, Calif.) and Macie Satterwhite (Callisburg, Texas), who spent the season's opening weekend playing together for the first time. After going a combined 19-5 in 2020, Merlino playing out the second flight and Satterwhite slotted at No. 4, the two dropped only a single set through four matches. They'll have the opportunity to continue that success in New Orleans.
The Bayou Beach Duels will pit the Javelinas against three teams they've all seen before, including a Tulane squad the Blue and Gold played in their final match of 2020 and who will enter the weekend with a record identical to TAMUK's. Spring Hill, who the Javs defeated in the national semifinals in 2018, was also on the schedule a year ago, but the season was called off long before teams were supposed to meet on March 28th.
The Javelinas and the Warhawks will be locking horns for the seventh time in a series that began with two matches won by ULM in 2017. The Warhawks won the first five meetings in this rivalry before the Javs broke through with a 3-2 triumph in Monroe in 2019.
Fans can check Javelinaathletics.com at the end of both days in New Orleans for a recap of every TAMUK match. 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.
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