KINGSVILLE, Texas – For the final time in the 2021 season, the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team will be at home, set to take on the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Javelina Beach Volleyball Courts in Kingsville, Texas.
The Javelinas will take time afterwards to honor their five-person senior class, which consists of Olivia Nicholson (Rose Hill, Kan,), TaylorLynn Noga (Anchorage, Alaska), Debra Rogers (Tulsa, Okla.), Shelby Tate (New Braunfels, Texas) and Shelby Williams (New Braunfels, Texas), as well as Maelee Sowa (Seely, Texas), one of the members of their 2020 senior class.
Tate is one of three players who remain from TAMUK's 2018 National Championship team and she's scored 22 victories over her four years in Blue and Gold, 11 of which came as a freshman. When the Javelinas returned to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Small College Championships in 2019, Tate was part of a tandem that won the one of the event's pair's tournaments and she followed that by posting a 6-3 record out of the fifth flight as a junior.
Noga reached 10 victories for the 2019 squad, two of which came in the national tournament. So far in 2021, she's gone 4-0, including a straight set victory over Ottawa out of the fifth flight during TAMUK's opening weekend. Her career also includes triumphs over pairs from Louisiana-Monroe and Nichols State.
Like Noga, Willams, Rogers and Nicholson all arrived in Kingsville after fantastic indoor volleyball careers elsewhere. Williams never missed a match in four years as a defensive specialist at UT-San Antonio, Nicholson helped Colorado State reach the NCAA Tournament for four consecutive years and Rogers was an Honorable Mention All-American at Arkansas Fort Smith.
While Williams saw her first season in Blue and Gold cut short, she still collected seven wins, including five-in-a-row to start the year. So far in 2021, she's joined forces with Rogers and those two have earned five triumphs in seven tries, including a three-set victory over a pair from Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday.
Nicholson has been teamed with junior Roxanne Morris (Goliad, Texas) and both players have spent the early part of the year at TAMUK's No. 1 spot. They responded to that challenge by taking three of their first four matches and they'll be trying to help the Javs maintain their perfect home record against the Islanders on Wednesday.
The Javelinas and the Islanders are two programs that have become very familiar with each other over the past several season. TAMUK's closed out their inaugural season with a win on TAMU-CC's home turf that was also the Javs second victory in three matches against their rivals that year. TAMUK went 2-1 against the Isles again in 2018 and defeated that for a fifth time to open 2019, the last time these squads have faced each other.
Fans can visit Javelinaathletics.com, where there will be a link to live updates from Wednesday's match, as well as a complete recap after the final point is scored. 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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