KINGSVILLE, Texas – Less than one month remains in the 2022 season for the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team and with the AVCA Small College Beach Championships only a few weekends away, the Javelinas will start the season's final month with their last day of the year at home on Tuesday, when they'll take on the Mary Hardin Baylor Crusaders at 1 p.m. and the Abilene Christian Wildcats at 5 p.m. at the Javelina Beach Courts in Kingsville, Texas.
Tuesday will also serve as Senior Day for the Javelinas and their seven-person senior class will be honored at the conclusion of the day's final match. The team's 2022 senior class consists of Christina Gragasin (Celina, Texas), Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas), Meghan Merlino (Sacramento, Calif.), Roxanne Morris (Goliad, Texas), Olivia Nicholson (North Platte, Neb.) Kapri Pelle (Auburn, Calif.) and Macie Satterwhite (Callisburg, Texas).
Together, this group has accounted for more than 150 victories in Blue and Gold, a total that also includes better than 20 wins in the national tournament. They've also helped the Javs compile a 29-5 record at home since the start of 2018, a mark that includes 15 straight triumphs at the Javelina Beach Courts.
The most accomplished member of the class is Tenley Housler, who has totaled a program record 75 wins, with 37 of those coming out of the No. 3 flight, another mark that's the best in school history. Housler will enter her final day on TAMUK's home court with one more record in her sights. Two wins on Tuesday would make her the winningest player in school history out of the No. 1 flight.
Since the start of 2021, no one has teamed up with Housler more than Satterwhite and after going 12-5 together a year ago, including a win in the National Final, they've occupied the top flight for the Javs in 2022 and rattled off seven more victories. Satterwhite, who won 10 matches in the fourth flight in 2020 and added 12 more at No. 3 in 2021, is aiming to become the first Javelina to reach double figures in victories in three different flights.
Gragasin's list of accolades include being part of an American Volleyball Coaches Association Top Flight tandem as a freshman, when she held down the fifth flight with Nicole Murff to the tune of a 15-5 record. In 2021, Gragasin joined forces with Shelby Tate to win the AVCA Pairs Challenge Tournament in Tavares, Fla.
Few tandems have spent as much time together in the top flight as Morris and Nicholson, who played in 28 matches at the No. 1 spot in 2021, tied for the second-most all-time in that flight. Morris' total of 40 matches played in her career at No. 1 are the third-most ever for the Javelinas and she also ranks in the top 10 all-time in career matches played. On the Javs' 2021 Senior Day, Morris and Nicholson captured a two-flight victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi that helped TAMUK come back from a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 win.
Pelle and Merlino started their senior seasons red hot, taking their first four matches to earn spots on the Texas A&M-Kingsville Invitational All-Tournament Team. During that season-opening weekend, both Merlino and Pelle were part of tandems that scored the clinching point in dramatic fashion. On Feb. 25th against Colorado Mesa, Merlino and Gragasin dropped the first set in the fifth flight, but rebounded to collect the next two frames, locking up a 3-2 final in favor of the Javs.
One day later, it was Pelle and sophomore Rylie Anderson (Justin, Texas) who finished off Stephen F. Austin. After splitting the first two sets, then falling behind early in the third, TAMUK No. 4 tandem won six of the match's final eight points to secure another 3-2 triumph.
Keep up with all of Tuesday's action by visiting Javelinaathletics.com, where you'll find links to live stats and a recap at the end of the day. 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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