CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Thursday afternoon will bring the official start of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's newest sport as the beach volleyball team travels to Houston Baptist for its first-ever match.
The Islanders are one of just three beach volleyball programs in the state of Texas and, again, one of three Southland Conference institutions to sponsor the sport. As the minimum number of programs needed to form a conference is six, the Islanders are an independent in beach volleyball for the 2016 season.
A&M-Corpus Christi is aiming to transition its success from the indoor game onto the sand in the first season as the Islander roster is comprised entirely of members from its indoor squad. 10 of the 12 members of the inaugural beach roster played on this fall's Southland Conference championship team. The only additions from outside that contingent are Brianna Brink, who played four years of indoor for the Islanders, and freshman Madison Green, who joined the Islanders in January and will be a setter on the indoor team.
Thursday's match at Houston Baptist is the first beach match for both HBU and A&M-Corpus Christi. Much like the Islanders, the Huskies will transition a few of their indoor players onto the sand, while also mixing in a few beach specific players.
The clash is a rematch of the 2015 Southland Conference Championship on the indoor side, which the Islanders won 3-1.
GET TO KNOW THE GAME
Beach volleyball is different in a number of ways from the indoor game. Along with various technique and rule changes, the game will also be scored differently at the NCAA level. Each match will comprise of five doubles matches between two players of either team. In order to win the match, a team will need to win 3-of-5 individual matches.
Each doubles flight will consist of three sets, with the first two being played to the traditional 21 points in beach. In case of a 1-1 tie after the first two sets, the third set will be played to 15.
THE WEEKEND AHEAD
The Islanders will continue north as the Blue and Green heads to TCU for the Fight at the Fort Tournament in Fort Worth. The Islanders will face HBU, TCU and nationally-ranked Florida State in the two-day tournament.
