The Javelinas opened up their 2019 season last Thursday in Corpus Christi with a win against the Islanders.
The Javelinas beat the Division 1 Islanders 3-2 and continued their winning ways after winning the AVCA National Championship last season. The Javelinas also faced San Jose State in Corpus on Thursday but fell 2-3.
The beach volleyball team headed back home on Friday for their home debut, hosting the Emerald Beach Hotel Classic.
They faced Missouri Baptist, Houston Baptist, San Jose State on Friday, then turned around and faced the University of New Mexico and University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) on Saturday.
“I thought we competed well with the tough competition that we were faced with. I was really proud because we didn’t back down or get intimidated by the bigger Division 1 schools and went into the matches confident and aggressive. We have a lot of things to work on but overall, it was a solid start for the team,” Senior Haley Hutchinson said.
The Javelinas did fair well against their Division 1 counterparts, winning at least one game a match, nearly scraping out wins almost every match.
The Javelinas opened the Emerald Beach Hotel Classic with a big win, a sweep of Missouri Baptist, with all five pairs recording a win.
Later that day the Javelinas took on Houston Baptist but lost the game by one match, 2-3.
The Javelina two’s and three’s pairs played well against Houston Baptist, both logging wins.
On their third match of the day the Javelinas faced San Jose State once more.
The Javelinas fought hard but ultimately lost the match 1-4, however freshmen Kylexus Block and senior Madison Brabham got the lone win in the match.
On Saturday, the last day of the Emerald Beach Hotel Classic, the Javelinas faced University of New Mexico and the University of Louisiana Monroe.
The Javelinas fought hard but barely lost both matches 2-3. Against New Mexico, the Javelinas fought hard and put the team on the board with a big two set win at the three’s spot from Hutchinson and her partner sophomore Macy Berg.
For their last match of the day the Javelinas faced ULM.
This match was the same story as earlier in the day, the Javelinas fought hard and almost upset ULM but lost a heartbreaker by losing the three’s match in a three-set thriller.
“We faced some tough competition this week and we improved as the tournament went on… we look forward to getting back out there and continue to get better,” Brabham said.
The Javelinas will head to Charleston, S.C., to compete in the College of Charleston Beach Bash on March 9 and 10.
