FORT WORTH, Texas – HCU beach is headed north this weekend for four matches at the TCU Invitational on Friday and Saturday at the TCU Beach Volleyball Courts.
As a team, the Huskies (12-11) dropped two of three last weekend at the Conni & Jay Wise Islander Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas but No. 1 pair
Maddie Butters and
Alison Stanfill posted a perfect 3-0 weekend en route to Southland Conference Pair of the Week honors. Butters and Stanfill own a 14-9 record this season at the ones and have won 13 of their last 16 matches.
Friday, Apr. 7, begins with an 8:00 a.m. dual against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (18-8). The Huskies are 0-2 vs. the Islanders this season but own a 13-12 advantage all-time. Jade Bennett and Tori Johnson have been the Islanders' most successful pair this season with a 16-9 record at the threes while Kela Morena and Shea Slusser have won nine-straight at the fives.
HCU will then face Florida Gulf Coast (10-12) at 12:00 p.m. on Friday. The pair of Jacqueline Carpenter and Kristina Gluc leads an Eagles squad that has lost its last five matches with a 12-9 record playing primarily in the No. 5 spot. FGCU holds a 2-0 all-time record against the Huskies with both matches ending 3-2 in 2017 and 2018.
On Saturday, Apr. 8, the Huskies begin the day against UTEP (4-13) at 9:30 a.m. before facing the top-ranked Horned Frogs (24-0) at 3:30 p.m. The Miners earned a win over Missouri State on a 1-3 weekend last weekend, the team's first tournament since last facing the Huskies. HCU swept UTEP, 5-0, on Saturday, Mar. 18, with all five matches ending in two sets.
TCU heads into the weekend with an unblemished record and has been atop the AVCA Top 20 poll for the last five weeks. The Horned Frogs' No. 1 pair of Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno boasts a 20-1 record this season while Hailey Brockett and Rochelle Scott own a perfect 16-0 mark playing primarily at the fives. TCU defeated the Huskies, 5-0, in Houston in the season-opening Third Coast Classic.
HCU will have one more tournament before the SLC Championships, traveling to Baton Rouge, La. for the Battle on the Bayou, hosted by LSU, on Friday and Saturday, Apr. 14-15.
