KINGSVILLE, Texas – A perfect day in the Nos. 1, 4 and 5 flights helped the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team record another two-win day, sweeping the Missouri Baptist Spartans, 5-0, then pulling out a 3-2 nail-biter over the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks on Saturday afternoon at the Javelina Beach Courts in Kingsville, Texas.
This is the fourth time in program history and the third straight year the Javelinas have started 4-0.
"I thought we did a very good job of attacking," said coach Tanya Allen. "We were very offensive. Almost on every court, we were offensive the whole day through."
TAMUK vs. Missouri Baptist
The Javs' second sweep of the weekend came without any of their pairs needing a third set. Seniors Meghan Merlino (Sacramento, Calif.) and Christina Gragasin (Celina, Texas) cruised the fifth flight, 21-9, 21-7 and the match's second point from junior Lexi Ahrens (Virginia, Minn.) and senior Roxanne Morris (Goliad, Texas), 21-11, 21-13.
The victory was secured when seniors Macie Satterwhite (Callisburg, Texas) and Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) locked down the No. 1 contest, 21-17, 21-15, and senior Kapri Pelle (Auburn, Calif.) and sophomore Rylie Anderson (Justin, Texas) soon followed suit at No. 4 by a score of 21-10, 21-12. TAMUK's sweep was complete when sophomore Adrienne van Brunt (Corpus Christi, Texas) and freshman Madelyn Wallace (La Vernia, Texas) won the third flight 21-18, 21-17.
TAMUK vs. Stephen F. Austin
The Javelinas and the Jacks went down to the final point in their match, which started with Housler and Satterwhite earning a 25-23, 21-14 triumph in the first flight. SFA fought back by winning the second and third flights, but Merlino and Gragasin tied the score at 2-2 when they logged a fourth flight victory, 21-18, 21-15.
The fourth flight ended up being the deciding match and it needed three sets to find a winner. Anderson and Pelle had a lead early in the frame, then fell behind by one before winning six of the final eight points to finish off a 21-19, 16-21, 15-12 victory.
The Javelinas will now travel to Louisiana, a trip that begins with a Thursday dual match against Southeastern Louisiana at 1 p.m. To stay current with everything related to Javelina Beach Volleyball all year long, follow @JavelinaBeach on Twitter and @javelinasports and @JavelinaBeach on Instagram, like Javelina Sports on Facebook and visit Javelinasports.com. Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy.
Get the Official Javelina Athletics Mobile App today! Download on the App Store or Get It on Google Play to keep up with all the news, scores and updates of your favorite Javelinas.
