HOUSTON – HCU beach will bring the 2024 regular season to an end this Wednesday at Third Coast Volleyball Club with a pair of Senior Day duals against Stephen F. Austin and Tarleton State before hosting the Southland Conference Beach Championships from April 19-21.
HCU (8-21) will face SFA (9-18) at 11:00 a.m. followed by SFA and Tarleton (1-9) at 1:30 p.m. with HCU and Tarleton closing out the day at 4:00 p.m.
The Huskies went 1-3 last weekend against a tough field at the TCU Invitational. HCU earned a 3-2 win over Texas before falling to No. 5 TCU, 5-0 on day one. On day two, the Huskies dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 11 Hawaii before losing a rematch with the Longhorns, 3-2.
HCU's duo of
Kristin Gilmour and
Rachel Heilbrun owns an 8-9 record while playing as the team's No. 2 pair while No. 3 pair
Paige Palmer and
Audrey Pearce currently hold a 7-9 mark. Gilmour leads the team individually with 11 wins while Heilbrun and
Mary Alper are tied for second with 10 victories.
SFA comes into Wednesday having split a pair of duals last Friday, falling to Texas A&M-Kingsville by a 3-2 final before defeating Mary Hardin-Baylor, 5-0. The Huskies and LadyJacks have split the first two meetings this season with each side earning a 3-2 win. The duo of Gilmour and Heilbrun has won at the twos in both matchups.
Tarleton is in its first year of play and has lost its last six matches. The Texans' last tournament came on Mar. 29-30 at the ULM Beach Invitational, dropping matches to Hendrix, ULM, Eastern Kentucky and Central Arkansas. Tarleton's most successful pair this season has been the No. 1 pairing of Allison Bryant and Emma Halcomb with a 5-5 overall record.
Following Wednesday's matches, the Huskies will be off until Friday, Apr. 19, when they host the 2024 Southland Conference Beach Volleyball Championship. HCU earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament and will face No. 6 seed Southeastern on Friday at 11:30 a.m.
