KINGSVILLE, Texas – On day one of the 2022 season, the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team battled their way to a pair of victories, starting with a 5-0 sweep of the Mary Hardin Baylor Crusaders, then earned a hard-fought, come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Colorado Mesa Mavericks on Friday afternoon at the Javelina Beach Volleyball Courts in Kingsville, Texas.
This marks three straight years the Javelinas have started 2-0.
"I thought we played really well considering how cold it is," said coach Tanya Allen. "I bet their hands and feet were really hurting, but we showed a lot of grit. There were some really good matches and close sets against Colorado Mesa and we found a way to pull it out."
TAMUK vs. Mary Hardin Baylor
The Javs only dropped one set to their first opponent of the day, marking six straight times they've won their season opener in a sweep. Senior Roxanne Morris (Goliad, Texas) and junior Lexi Ahrens (Virginia, Minn.) made short work of the opponents in the second flight by a 21-16, 21-8 score and the No. 3 match went to freshman Madelyn Wallace (La Vernia, Texas) and sophomore Adrienne van Brunt (Corpus Christi, Texas), 21-16, 21-13.
In the fifth slot were seniors Christina Gragasin (Celina, Texas) and Meghan Merlino (Sacramento, Calif.) and they cruised to a 21-3, 21-9 triumph. Seniors Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) and Macie Satterwhite (Callisburg, Texas) locked down the top flight, 21-10, 21-8 and sophomore Rylie Anderson (Justin, Texas) and senior Kapri Pelle (Auburn, Texas) capped the shutout by winning the fourth flight, 21-15, 11-21, 15-12.
TAMUK vs. Colorado Mesa
Notching a victory against the Mavericks proved to be a much more difficult task, especially after CMU went up 2-0 by taking the No. 2 and No. 3 matches.
On the first, fourth and fifth courts, the teams battled to a decisive third set, and Anderson and Pelle got the first Blue and Gold point on the board. They dropped the first frame, won the second by four, then erased in early deficit in the final stanza before prevailing, 19-21, 21-17, 15-13.
Winning the first flight was just as difficult a task for Housler and Satterwhite, who were locked in a tight, three-set battle, but also came from behind in the last frame for a final score of 21-14, 17-21, 15-13. Gragasin and Merlino put the final piece of the puzzle into place, never trailing in their third set on their way to a 19-21, 21-16, 15-11 victory.
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