KINGSVILLE, Texas – After narrowly missing out on a couple victories during the season's second week, the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team will take on three different opponents at the Heart of Phoenix Tournament, which is being held on Saturday and Sunday at the GCU Beach Volleyball Stadium in Phoenix, Ariz.
The Grand Canyon University Antelopes will be TAMUK's first opponent at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, followed by a 2:30 p.m. match with the Missouri State Bears. On Sunday, the Javelinas' will face the Abilene Christian Wildcats at 12:30 p.m.
The season's second week saw the Javelinas operate with a lineup that was different from the one they started the year with and those most successful pair out of that group consisted of freshman Madelyn Wallace (La Vernia, Texas) and sophomore Rylie Anderson (Justin, Texas). That tandem posted a 3-2 record in five matches together, including back-to-back triumphs over Southern Mississippi and UAB on Sunday. So far as a sophomore, Anderson has helped the Javs hold down the fourth flight to the tune of a 7-3 record.
Seniors Macie Satterwhite (Callisburg, Texas) and Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) continue to hold down the top flight for the Javelinas and they started the previous week by topping their opponents from Southeastern Louisiana. They also nearly stole victories at the expense of pairs from LSU and USM.
While this tournament will represent the start of the season for ACU, both GCU and Missouri State own winning records so far in 2022. The Antelopes, who finished last year ranked No. 8 in the nation, have reached 5-2 in part by knocking off three ranked teams. Their most recent weekend of competition was the Battle for L.A. Invitational, where they knocked off No. 8 Stanford and No. 11 Cal Poly.
Missouri State began their year by winning four of five before dropping consecutive decisions to the College of Charleston and Tampa. MSU's most effective team has been that of Grace Cook and Chloe Tome, who've played all seven of their team's matches in the No. 2 flight. Cook and Tome own a perfect 7-0 record to this point in the season and they were the only pair to triumph in each of their team's three losses. When the Bears and Javelinas square off on Saturday, it will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.
Be sure to check Javelinaathletics.com at the end of both days for a recap and results. 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.
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