PHOENIX – After starting the first day of the Heart of Phoenix Invitational with a 5-0 loss to the No. 7 Grand Canyon University Antelopes, the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team bounced back by fighting their way to a 3-2 triumph over the Missouri State Bears on Saturday afternoon at the GCU Beach Volleyball Stadium in Phoenix.
This 1-1 day puts TAMUK's record at 5-6.
TAMUK vs. Grand Canyon
The Lopes seventh win of the season started with them taking the second flight, 21-14, 21-11, then the fourth match, 21-9, 21-16. GCU clinched the match with a 21-12, 21-16 victory at No. 5. The third flight finished 21-17, 21-18, followed by the No. 1 match, which ended 21-17, 21-11.
TAMUK vs. Missouri State
The Bears and Javelinas played a contest that went down to the final point. MSU won the second and fifth flights in straight sets, but the Javs kept pace, thanks in part to seniors Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) and Macie Satterwhite (Callisburg, Texas) winning at No. 1, 21-11, 21-17. Freshman Madelyn Wallace (La Vernia, Texas) and sophomore Rylie Anderson (Justin, Texas) won the fourth match, 21-11, 21-18, leaving only the fourth flight to decide the victor.
That No. 4 match pitted TAMUK's junior Lexi Ahrens (Virginia, Minn.) and junior Adrienne van Brunt (Corpus Christi, Texas) against MSU's Grayson Hall and Becca Bach. The first set went to extra points, but Ahrens and van Brunt outlasted their opponents to take it by a 26-24 score. The Bears' tandem took the next frame by five, but the third was another hotly contested set and TAMUK's pairing edged out a 16-14 triumph to clinch their team's fifth win of the season.
The Javelinas will play one more match in Phoenix, a date with the Abilene Christian Wildcats at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. 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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