Beach Downed on Opening Day

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Opening the second season of beach volleyball in program history, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi fell 5-0 to Houston Baptist Tuesday afternoon.
 
The Islanders and Huskies are no stranger to each other, battling a number of times in 2016 and Tuesday was the first of three schedule meetings between the two this year.

"It's always good to get some competition against other teams," said head coach Steve Greene. "It wasn't the result we wanted, but I thought we did a lot of good things at times. We fought hard in a couple of matches. I think a lot of it was just some mental hesitation and that's the biggest thing we need to work on. Skill wise we looked good, did some good things but I don't think we were at our best mentally."
 
In the first round of duals, Islanders Claire Karsten and Haley Sobosle fell 21-9, 21-11 at the fifth spot in the order. The Huskies would extend the lead to 2-0 with a win at four as Kristyn Nicholson and Mallory Moran were upended 21-16, 21-10.
 
Playing a sixth match in the rotation, Mackenzie Coates and Morgan Williams dropped a hotly contested first set 24-22 before falling 21-15 in the second.
 
On courts one through three, the Islanders forced a pair of third sets, but could not break through against the Huskies.
 
Brittany Gilpin and Madison Green rebounded from a 21-15 first set for a 21-14 victory in the second. Playing the abbreviated third set, Gilpin and Green ultimately fell 15-12.
 
Madi Fitzsimmons and Madison Woods got off to a hot start at the third spot, taking a 22-20 first set. But the Huskies rallied back for a 21-15 second to level the match before clinching with a 15-11 third set.
 
At the two spot, veterans Morgan Carlson and Kelsee Felux were downed 21-13, 21-12 by Victoria Hinojosa and Kayla Armer.
 
The Islanders will return to the sand on March 24 in a neutral site matchup against Louisiana-Monroe at HBU. The match kicks off three matches over two days at the Third Coast Classic hosted by HBU.