New Orleans – The Javelinas closed out the Tulane Bayou Beach Duals with a perfect 2-0 day on Saturday, taking down Central Arkansas 3-2 and rallying past UTEP 3-2 to finish the weekend strong and improve to 12-3 on the season.
Against Central Arkansas, the Javelinas got things started at pairs two and four. Kalani Vasquez and Laura Betsa battled through a grind, ultimately pulling through in three sets, 21-17, 22-24, 15-11 to give Kingsville the early edge. Williams and Wozniak dropped their match at pair four, leaving things even heading into the back half. From there, the Javelinas took control. Emma Daugherty and Kastyn Hoffman made quick work of pair three, taking care of business in straight sets, 21-18, 21-19, and Clara Presmanes-Garate and Kamryn Briggs delivered the clinching point with a gritty three-set victory, 23-21, 16-21, 15-12 to secure the win.
The Javelinas then turned around and faced a determined UTEP squad in the final match of the weekend, and it came down to the wire. Pairs two and four split — UTEP took pair two from Vasquez and Betsa in three sets, while Williams and Wozniak responded with a convincing 21-19, 21-16 win at pair four to keep things level. Daugherty and Hoffman then delivered one of the matches of the weekend, grinding out a thrilling three-set victory at pair three, 16-21, 21-18, 18-16. With the match tied 2-2, it all came down to pair one, where Rylan Pollard and Liana Huesca rose to the moment — winning 18-21, 21-16, 15-9 to clinch the match and send the Javelinas home with a sweep of day two.
The Javelinas return to action next weekend at the UCA Spring Break Invitational in Conway, Arkansas, facing UT Martin on Friday at 8:00 a.m. and Southwest Baptist at 2:00 p.m., before wrapping up Saturday against UT Martin at 8:00 a.m. and Southwest Baptist at 10:00 a.m.
Follow Javelina Beach on X, Instagram, and Facebook for updates throughout the weekend.
Texas A&M University-Kingsville 3 Central Arkansas 2
UCA (Blum/Linskey) def. TAMUK (Pollard/Huesca) – 15-21, 21-17, 11-15
TAMUK (Vasquez/Betsa) def. UCA (Lawrence/White) – 21-17, 22-24, 15-11
TAMUK (Daugherty/Hoffman) def. UCA (Layzell/Sharp) – 21-18, 21-19
UCA (Heck/Jaworski) def. TAMUK (Williams/Wozniak) – 15-21, 19-21
TAMUK (Presmanes-Garate/Briggs) def. UCA (Cathcart/Siewert) – 23-21, 16-21, 15-12
Texas A&M University-Kingsville 3 Texas-El Paso 2
TAMUK (Pollard/Huesca) def. UTEP (Acuna/Hill) – 18-21, 21-16, 15-9
UTEP (Llewellyn/Popovic) def. TAMUK (Vasquez/Betsa) – 19-21, 21-16, 13-15
TAMUK (Daugherty/Hoffman) def. UTEP (Paegle/Threet) – 16-21, 21-18, 18-16
TAMUK (Williams/Wozniak) def. UTEP (Loera/Monreal) – 21-19, 21-16
UTEP (Oporto/Schubert) def. TAMUK (Presmanes-Garate/Briggs) – 14-21, 16-21
