TAVARES, Fla. – The Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team is back in Tavares, Fla., the site of the 2022 American Volleyball Coaches Association Small College Beach Championships, which will be held Thursday through Saturday, and, having been seeded fifth and dropped into Pool D, the Javelinas are about to embark on the final stage of their quest to capture the program's second National Championship.
TAMUK's tournament will start with three matches in pool play, first on Thursday when they're scheduled to square off with the Eckerd Tritons at 12 p.m. and the Erskine Flying Fleet at 5 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. match against the Spring Hill Badgers on Friday. The rest of the Friday schedule will consist of challenge round play before the single-elimination brackets are set for Sunday, when a champion will be crowned.
The Javelinas enter the postseason following a productive end to the regular year that saw them breeze past Stephen F. Austin and Houston Baptist by identical 4-1 scores on Friday. One of the highlights of those two triumphs was the first appearance of the season for senior Olivia Nicholson (North Platte, Neb.), who was matched with fellow senior Roxanne Morris (Goliad, Texas) in the third flight and the two didn't drop a set in either match. They also became just the sixth tandem in program history to play at least 30 matches together.
The final day of the regular season also saw sophomore Rylie Anderson (Justin, Texas) and freshman Madelyn Wallace (La Vernia, Texas) win a pair of three-set battles in the fourth flight, improving their record at No. 4 to 6-1. Anderson and Wallace have spent time at three different flights in 2022, racking up 14 total wins. Included in that total are victories over Colorado Mesa, Tusculum, Erskine and Catawba, all squads that will be joining the Javelinas in Florida.
Along with the return of Nicholson and continued strong play from Anderson and Wallace, the Javelinas will also benefit from another week with seniors Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) and Macie Satterwhite (Callisburg, Texas) matched together.
At nationals in 2021, Housler and Satterwhite occupied the No. 3 spot and went 5-2, including a comeback win against the No. 3 tandem from Tampa in the National Semifinal. In 2022, these two seniors have spent the entire year at the No. 1 spot and their 15 wins lead the squad. That total also is just two shy of the program record for most wins by pairing in the No. 1 flight.
Included in the field are eight teams the Javelinas have played since the start of 2021, including the top-seeded and two-time defending National Champion Tampa Spartans. Tampa carries with them a 12-14 record for the season but they're also 4-1 against teams that will be vying for their crown in Tavares.
The one loss on that ledger came from the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish, with beat the Spartans 3-2 on April 2nd. PBA has the formidable team of Lunden Evans and Jazz Schmidt at the No. 1 spot, who've gone 21-4 together. Seeded just one spot ahead of the Sailfish are the Concordia Irvine Eagles, who are 19-3 and have won their last seven matches, and the 2021 National Runners-Up from Spring Hill College, who've also collected 19 wins in 2022 and who beat the Javelinas in a 3-2 squeaker on April 1st.
Be sure to check back on Javelinaathletics.com as well as @JavelinaBeach on Twitter and Instagram for updates on the Javelinas progress in Tavares, Fla. 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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