TAVARES, Fla. – The Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team started their second day at the American Volleyball Coaches Association Small College Beach Championships by scoring a 3-0 victory over the Spring Hill Badgers, but they then suffered a 5-0 defeat at the hands of the Colorado Mesa Mavericks on Friday at the Hickory Point Beach Sand Volleyball Complex in Tavares, Fla.
TAMUK's defeat drops them into the tournament's Silver Bracket, where they will be the No. 1 seed. The Javelinas now own a record of 18-11 for the season.
TAMUK vs. Spring Hill
In their quest to knock off an SHC team that had beaten them four straight times, including in the 2021 National Tournament, the Javs opened the contest by winning the first set on every court. Seniors Christina Gragasin (Celina, Texas) and Meghan Merlino (Sacramento, Calif.) were the first tandem to also collect the second set, triumphing by a score of 21-13, 21-12.
In the third flight, seniors Olivia Nicholson (North Platte, Neb.) and Roxanne Morris (Goliad, Texas) took the opening frame, 21-19, but found themselves trailing 19-16 late in the second. From there, the two seniors rattled off four straight points and, after fighting off a Badger set point at 21-20, won the final three rallies to cap a 21-19, 23-21 decision.
The clinching point was provided by sophomore Rylie Anderson (Justin, Texas) and freshman Madelyn Wallace (La Vernia, Texas) in the No. 4 match. After winning the first set, SHC came back to grab the second, but Anderson and Wallace controlled the final frame for a 21-16, 15-21, 15-10 final that iced the victory.
TAMUK vs. Colorado Mesa
The Mavericks secured the No. 4 match first by a score of 21-14, 21-16, then collected the No. 1 flight, 21-16, 21-17 before their No. 2's secured the clinching point, 21-19, 21-16. On both the No. 3 and No. 5 courts, the Javelinas fought back to take the second set after dropping the first, but CMU took the decisive frame in both instances, first in the third match, 21-17, 13-21, 15-7, then at No. 5, 21-15, 15-21, 15-12.
The Javelinas will play Saint Leo in the first round in the Silver Bracket on Saturday at 7 a.m CT. 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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