HOUSTON – The HCU beach volleyball team opened the 2024 season on Friday at Third Coast Volleyball Club with a win over Central Arkansas before falling to sixth-ranked LSU at the Third Coast College Classic.
In their opening match, the Huskies (1-1) earned a 4-1 victory over the Bears (0-2). The freshmen duo of
Rachel Heilbrun and Tatum Lockhart got things started with a two-set victory at the fours, 21-14, 21-11, followed UCA's Madlyn White and Audrey Cathcart winning at the fives over HCU's
Gabi Axelrod and
Alisia Silverthorn, 24-22, 14-21, 15-11. The Huskies' No. 2 pair of
Abbey Bufkin and
Mary Alper rolled to a 21-16, 21-13 victory followed by No. 1 pair
Kristen Kleymeyer and
Kristin Gilmour earning the deciding point in two sets, 21-15, 21-17.
Kylann Griffith and
Paige Palmer closed out the match for HCU with a 21-16, 21-13 victory in the No. 3 spot.
In the later matchup vs. the ranked Tigers, (2-0), the Huskies lost 5-0.
Gabi Axelrod and Alisia SIlverthorn played a pair of close sets at the No. 5 position, but fell in two, 21-18, 21-18. At the twos, Bufkin and Griffith lost 21-14, 21-15.
HCU is back in the sand on Saturday, Feb. 24, morning for day two of the Third Coast College Classic with 15
th-ranked Washington at 11:00 a.m. before closing out the tournament vs. No. 4 TCU at 5:00 p.m.
