Beach Volleyball Goes 2-0 Saturday, Defeats North Florida and Spring Hill
Mar 23, 2019 | Women's Beach Volleyball
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – The Tulane beach volleyball team (14-8, 5-6 CCSA) earned two wins on Saturday to close out weekend competition in the Tiger Beach Challenge, defeating North Florida and Spring Hill College with 3-2 and 4-1 respective scores.
"I'm really proud of the team for grinding through some challenges and earning three tough wins this weekend," head coach Wayne Holly said. "We're learning about ourselves and continuing the process of improvement so we can peak for our conference tournament."
The Green Wave's No. 1 and 2 pairs went 3-1 on the sand this weekend, each recording two wins over the team's final opponents on Saturday.
Junior Kaylie McHugh and sophomore Addison Hermstad proved to be successful on court one, defeating North Florida's Brittany Tase and Chaney Howard in straight sets, 21-18 and 21-17, before taking down Spring Hill's Kassandra Failry and Payton Gidney in two identical 21-17 sets.
Keeping up their consistent performance from the No. 2 position, sophomores Rio Frohoff and Lauren Orlich earned consecutive wins over North Florida's Antonia Harrison and Jessi Freeman, 21-18 and 21-19, and Spring Hill's Cassadi Sterrett and Taylor Just, 21-15 and 21-17.
Tulane's pairs on courts three and five turned things around against Spring Hill after falling to North Florida in the first match of the day.
Junior Tarin Mergener and freshman Haley Gibson teamed up to beat Spring Hill's Brittany Bilotti and Emily Greim in two sets from the No. 3 spot, 21-15 and 21-18, while freshman Kilani Daane and sophomore Morgan Esters did the same over Emmarose Neibart and Sarah Senft as the No. 5 duo, recording a 21-13, 21-19 win.
Earning a crucial victory on court four in the first match of the day, freshman Ellie Leitko and Gabriella Becerra took the first set, 21-19, before falling in the second with a 16-21 score. The two came back to take the tight tiebreaker, 15-13, over North Florida's Dana Roskic and Callie Workman to help solidify the win for the Green Wave.
The beach volleyball team prepares to head to Miami next weekend to compete in the FIU Surf 'N Turf on Friday and Saturday. Tulane is set to match up against five ranked opponents in the challenging tournament, including, No. 3 Florida State, No. 16 Florida Atlantic, No. 8 Florida International, No. 20 TCU and No. 10 Stetson.
Tulane 3, North Florida 2
1. Kaylie McHugh/Addison Hermstad (TU) def. Brittany Pase/Chaney Howard (UNF) 21-18, 21-17
2. Rio Frohoff/Lauren Orlich (TU) def. Antonia Harrison/Jessi Freeman (UNF) 21-18, 21-19
3. Madilyn McCarty/Nicole DeBolt (UNF) def. Tarin Mergener/Haley Gibson (TU) 15-21, 21-14, 15-11
4. Ellie Leitko/Gabriella Becerra (TU) def. Dana Roskic/Callie Workman (UNF) 21-19, 16-21, 15-13
5. Carleigh Semeniuk/Lauren Galinis (UNF) def. Morgan Esters/Kilani Daane (TU) 21-16, 21-19
Tulane 4, Spring Hill 1
1. Kaylie McHugh/Addison Hermstad (TU) def. Kassandra Failry/Payton Gidney (SHC) 21-17, 21-17
2. Rio Frohoff/Lauren Orlich (TU) def. Cassadi Sterrett/Taylor Hurst (SHC) 21-15, 21-17
3. Tarin Mergener/Haley Gibson (TU) def. Brittany Bilotti/Emily Greim (SHC) 21-15, 21-18
4. Caroline Herrera/Allison Weimer (SHC) def. Gabriella Becerra/Ellie Leitko (TU) 21-12, 21-19
5. Kilani Daane/Morgan Esters (TU) def. Emmarose Neibart/Sarah Senft (SHC) 21-13, 21-19
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