TAMPA, Fla. – HCU came out on the wrong end of a pair of duals on Saturday at the UT Beach Volleyball Complex, losing both matchups against Coastal Carolina and No. 20 Tampa by 4-1 scores.
The first dual of the day for HCU (1-11) came against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (6-6) in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Freshman duo
Rachel Heilbrun and
Tatum Lockhardt earned the Huskies' point while playing as the team's No .4 pair, winning 21-14, 21-18.At the threes,
Mary Alper and
Paige Palmer went to three sets, but fell 20-22, 21-16, 15-8 while
Killian Armstrong and
Gabi Axelrod also took their matchup to three sets (21-17, 18-21, 15-9) at the fives.
In the Huskies later matchup against the Spartans (7-7), the team picked up its point at the No. 1 position. Playing together for the first time on Saturday,
Abbey Bufkin and
Kristen Kleymeyer took a two-set win, 21-17, 21-16). Armstrong and
Lauren Vickery played at the fives with a marathon first set going to Tampa before taking the second and falling in three, 30-28, 10-21, 15-8.
Next weekend, the Huskies travel to Youngsville, La. for the Sugar Beach Bash with a Southland Conference matchup against New Orleans on the docket along with duals vs. Tulane, Tampa and Stephen F. Austin on Friday and Saturday, Mar. 15-16.
