KINGSVILLE, Texas – Only one tournament separates the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team from the chance to return to the Florida to try and reclaim their National Title and that one tournament is the Battle on the Bayou, where the Javelinas will play five matches in two days, starting on Friday and concluding on Saturday at the LSU Beach Volleyball Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
On Friday, the Javelinas are schedule to tangle with the Central Arkansas Beach Bears at 3 p.m. and the New Orleans Privateers at 6 p.m. One day later, their slate includes an 11:40 a.m. matchup against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, followed by a 2:20 p.m. contest with the LSU Tigers and a 5 p.m. tilt against the Spring Hill Badgers.
TAMUK's match against the Badgers holds special significance due to the possibility that those teams might meet again at the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Tournament. During the Javs run to the National Title in 2018, they squeaked out a 3-2 win over SHC in the semifinals. The Badgers nearly earned a rematch with the Javelinas in 2019, but were defeated again in the semis, this time by Tampa.
This will be the second time in 2021 SHC and TAMUK have locked horns and the Badgers earned a 4-1 win in the first meeting. For the season, Spring Hill has compiled a 10-6 record that includes victories over UCA, UNO and ULM.
The Badgers are likely to see a Javelina lineup that looks different from the one the Javs fielded in the initial clash and one of the pairings that's been put together since that matchup is the team of Emily North (Red Oak, Texas) and Rylie Anderson (Justin, Texas). In 10 matches together, North and Anderson have gone 7-3, including a stretch of five wins in their last six matches. They've also collected two wins at the expense of ULM in 2021, with the last one being a 21-19, 24-26, 15-12 thriller on March 20th.
Junior Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) and freshman Macie Satterwhite (Callisburg, Texas) have found a chemistry that's led to a 4-2 record in the third flight. Their most recent defeat broke a four-match win streak that consisted completely of wins over Division I opponents and during which Housler and Satterwhite didn't drop a set.
Check back on Javelinaathletics.com for links to coverage of the matches in Baton Rouge, including live video of the meeting with LSU and a recap at the end of each day. 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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