Tulane University
Houston Baptist University
Beach Volleyball Wins Home Opener, Defeats Houston Baptist 3-2
Feb 26, 2019 | Women's Beach Volleyball
NEW ORLEANS – No. 17 Tulane beach volleyball (2-3, 0-2 CCSA) earned its first home win of the season on Tuesday, defeating Houston Baptist (0-1) with a 3-2 score at White Sands Volleyball Courts.
"It was a good win, there's no such thing as a bad win as far as we're concerned," head coach Wayne Holly said. "We got to play in front of our fans in New Orleans, which we don't do as often as we would like, so we appreciate them coming out. I'm glad that we were able to treat them to some great volleyball and a win. The players played well, I think they played a little bit better than we did in Tallahassee a couple days ago, so that was good. We really improved, played better volleyball in some respects than we did last weekend with the change of scenery, and that was enough for us to get a W."
Juniors Kaylie McHugh and Eva Torruella won their second match of 2019 in the No. 1 position, defeating HBU's Aeriel Horton and Tori Hinojosa in straight sets with 21-19 scores.
Recording their third dual win of the season, junior Tarin Mergener and sophomore Addison Hermstad also topped Huskies' Natalie Bennett and Maddie Butters with consecutive 21-14 victories on court three.
Sophomore Haley Gibson and freshman Ellie Leitko came together for the first time on the sand in the No. 4 spot, taking the two-set win over Conley Harris and Lauren Huggins with 21-15 and 27-25 scores.
Just short of earning the victory on court two, sophomores Rio Frohoff and Lauren Orlich fell in a hard-fought third set with 21-13, 17-21 and 11-15 scores in the match.
"We still need to improve in a lot of areas, and we had a nice team meeting about that today. We're still looking to get better because we have 48 hours and before we play again in Texas," Holly added. "Overall, it was a good day and we're going to move on and start to focus on the next thing in front of us."
The Green Wave head back on the road this weekend, preparing for a quick turnaround with a Friday and Saturday competition in the Horned Frog Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. Tulane will match up against Grand Canyon, TCU, Georgia State and Missouri State in the two-day tournament.
Full Scores
#17Â Tulane 3, Houston Baptist 2
- Kaylie McHugh/Eva Torruella (TU) def. Aeriel Horton/Tori Hinojosa (HB) 21-19, 21-19
- Bailey Banks/Kylie Bryan (HB)Â def. Rio Frohoff/Lauren Orlich (TU) 13-21, 21-17, 15-11
- Tarin Mergener/Addison Hermstad (TU) def. Natalie Bennett/Maddie Butters (HB) 21-14, 21-14
- Haley Gibson/Ellie Leitko (TU) def. Conley Harris/Lauren Huggins (HB) 21-15, 27-25
- Brennan Miller/Lindsay Harris (HB) def. Morgan Esters/Gabriella Becerra (TU) 21-13, 21-15
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