Tulane University
University of Central Arkansas
Beach Volleyball Sweeps Day One of Houston Baptist Invitational
Apr 8, 2017 | Women's Beach Volleyball
HOUSTON – Tulane's beach volleyball squad opened their weekend in Texas in sweeping fashion, coming away with a pair of 5-0 decisions over Central Arkansas and Texas A&M – Kingsville at Third Coast Volleyball in Houston. With the wins, the Green Wave move to 17-8 on the year with three weekends of play remaining.
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"I'm proud of the players for performing so well today in the wind. We're getting to be a very good team in these conditions and were perfectly happy when it started blowing this morning against a skilled and physical team in Central Arkansas. We matched their physicality and capitalized on the windy conditions with good control of the ball.
"Against Texas A&M – Kingsville it was about being repeatable in our skills and serving the ball very well to create opportunities to score in transition. We did that well enough to win on all five courts, so that's a credit to the players for maintaining a good level of play throughout the day."
--Tulane head coach Wayne Holly
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TULANE 5, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 0
The Green Wave opened up the weekend on a high note, sealing their eleventh dual sweep of the year in a 5-0 decision over Central Arkansas. With the win, Tulane handed the Sugar Bears just their second loss of the 2017 season, coming away with match sweeps on three courts.
Tulane got wins on the first two courts to take an early 2-0 lead over UCA, with No. 5 pair Sarah Strasner and Christina McAfee striking the first blow on a 2-1 decision. Annie Shurtz and Tarin Mergener then notched their eighth win as a pair, sweeping the Sugar Bears on court four.
Hannah Holmes and Briana Correa would seal a Tulane victory on court three, defeating UCA's third pair 21-19 in the first set and 15-13 in the third.
Adding to Tulane's win total in the dual, No. 2 pair Kaylie McHugh and Tea Juric put the Sugar Bears away on a 2-0 match sweep with scores of 21-8 and 21-12, improving their team-leading record to 19-5 on the year.
In flight one, the Green Wave sealed the sweep, putting away Central Arkansas in straight sets for the third time today on scores of 21-18, 21-14 from Madeline Mertz and Lan Nguyen
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TULANE 5, TEXAS A&M – KINGSVILLE 0
The Green Wave sealed their second sweep of the weekend on Saturday evening, defeating Texas A&M – Kingsville on a score of 5-0 to close day one in Houston.
Courts four and five once again landed in Tulane's favor, with Sarah Strasner and Anna Chin sweeping the Javelinas on scores of 21-14, 21-13. A 2-1 decision on court four would give Tulane a 2-0 advantage in the dual, with Tarin Mergener and Annie Shurtz defeating Kingsville's No. 4 duo of Kat Evans and Maelee Sowa.
Tulane sealed its second win of the day on court three with a court-three victory, bouncing back from a set-one loss and taking the match 2-1.
Tea Juric and Kaylie McHugh made it a 4-0 day on court two, recording their second match sweep of the day and defeating the Javelinas 21-6 in set two.
Madeline Mertz and Lan Nguyen rounded out the Tulane efforts on day one, easily defeating Lexi Wick and Kelby Sprinkles on scores of 21-14 and 21-12.
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UP NEXT
Tulane opens day two of the Houston Baptist Invitational with an 11:00 contest against in-state rival and CCSA foe LSU, followed by an evening contest against host Houston Baptist to close out the weekend.
Fans can keep up with the latest in Tulane beach volleyball action by following the team on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
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Results from Day One of the Houston Baptist Invitational
TULANE 5, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 0
No. 1 Madeline Mertz/Lan Nguyen (TUL) def. Haley Tippett/Megan Nash (UCA) 21-18, 21-14
No. 2 Tea Juric/Kaylie McHugh (TUL) def. Kris Hjembo/Steph Pollnow (UCA) 21-8, 21-12
No. 3 Hannah Holmes/Briana Correa (TUL) def. Heather Schnars/Kate Elman 21-19, 12-21, 15-13
No. 4 Annie Shurz/Tarin Mergener (TUL) def. Kellen Dunn/MC Rogers (UCA) 21-15, 21-14
No. 5 Sarah Strasner/Christina McAfee (TUL) def. Amy South/Mackenzie Dear (UCA) 21-15, 16-21, 15-13
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TULANE 5, TEXAS A&M – KINGSVILLE 0
No. 1 Madeline Mertz/Lan Nguyen (TUL) def. Lexi Wick/Kelby Sprinkles (TAMUK) 21-14, 21-12
No. 2 Tea Juric/Kaylie McHugh (TUL) def. Gabby Atchley/Kyra Henderson 21-15, 21-6
No. 3 Hannah Holmes/Briana Correa (TUL) def. Morgan Broussard/Madison Brabham (TAMUK) 22-24, 21-13, 15-7
No. 4 Tarin Mergener/Annie Shurtz (TUL) def. Kat Evans/Maelee Sowa (TAMUK) 21-10, 19-21, 15-8
No. 5 Sarah Strasner/Anna Chin (TUL) def. Haley Hutchinson/Kadi Shipman (TAMUK) 21-14, 21-13
