HOUSTON – The tandems in the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 flights each logged two wins as the Texas A&M-Kingsville beach volleyball team put together a perfect day on Friday at the Third Coast Volleyball Club in Houston, first topping the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 4-1, then overpowering the Houston Baptist Huskies, 4-1.
These two victories put the Javelinas at 15-10 for the season, the third highest win total in program history.
"I thought we played well today," said coach Tanya Allen, "especially in the wind. The gusts were pretty high and we managed very well. I'm very proud of our overall performance today. I hope these two strong wins give us some positive momentum going into nationals."
TAMUK vs. SFA
In a contest that included three matches that required a third set, seniors Meghan Merlino (Sacramento, Calif.) and Kapri Pelle (Auburn, Calif.) fought back after dropping the opening frame to take the fifth flight, 16-21, 24-22, 15-10. Sophomore Rylie Anderson (Justin, Texas) and Madelyn Wallace (La Vernia, Texas) also had to battle back from an early deficit to lock up the fourth spot, 16-21, 21-19, 15-9.
After SFA got the board with a win at No. 1, seniors Roxanne Morris (Goliad, Texas) and Olivia Nicholson (North Platte, Neb.) cruised to the clinching point in the third flight, 21-16, 21-14 and the final point was added when junior Lexi Ahrens (Virginia, Minn.) and sophomore Adrienne van Brunt (Corpus Christi, Texas) completed another come-from-behind effort, 20-22, 21-12, 15-6.
TAMUK vs. HBU
The Javelinas' second straight triumph over the Huskies started with Pelle and sophomore Jackie Alanis (McAllen, Texas) securing the sixth flight, 21-16, 21-16 and Merlino and senior Christina Gragasin (Celina, Texas) then put the match's first point on the board at No. 5, 21-15, 21-18. Anderson and Wallace has to battle to the final point of another three-set clash, but emerged victorious again, 21-10, 19-21, 15-13.
While the Huskies found success at No. 2, Nicholson and Morris made sure the match belonged to TAMUK by recording a 21-19, 21-15 decision in the third flight and seniors Tenley Housler (Bulverde, Texas) and Macie Satterwhite (Callisburg, Texas) put the final cherry on the sundae in the No. 1 match, 15-21, 21-18, 15-13.
The next stop for Tanya Allen's Javelinas is the American Volleyball Coaches Association Small College Beach Championships, which will begin on Thursday 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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