HOUSTON – HCU beach volleyball earned a pair of wins on Saturday afternoon at Third Coast Volleyball Club, defeating Sam Houston and UTEP on a cold and wet day one of the Third Coast College Classic.
 
The Huskies (2-0) began the day with a 3-0 win over Sam Houston (0-2) with two unfinished duals abandoned when a lightning delay halted play. On court 3, Karla Sanchez George and Lauren Vickery made quick work of the Bearkats, winning 21-7, 21-10 while Alexa Landmark and Paige Palmer earned a 21-7, 21-7 victory at the fours. The deciding third point came just ahead of the delay with Allie Patton and Audrey Pearce winning on court 5, 21-12, 21-12. On court 1, Kristin Gilmour and Rachel Heilbrun won their first set, 21-10, and were leading 16-12 in set two. At the twos, Tatum Lockhardt and Alisia Silverthorn also took their first set, 21-12, and held a 15-9 lead.
 
Following a three-hour lightning delay, the tournament resumed with the Huskies taking on UTEP (1-1) late in the afternoon. Gilmour and Heilbrun picked up the first point at the ones, earning a 21-14, 21-11 win. UTEP then won on court 2 in two sets to even the score at 1-1. The other three matches went to three sets. The first to finish was Court 5 with the Miners winning, 21-17, 17-21, 15-9. Landmark and Palmer dropped set one but fought back for an 18-21, 21-9, 15-12 victory to even things up at 2-2. The final point went to Sanchez George and Vickery at the threes with the Huskies winning in three, 17-21, 21-16, 15-13.
 
HCU will face Central Arkansas at 10:00 a.m. on day two of the Third Coach Collegiate Classic on Sunday, Feb. 23, before taking on 15^th-ranked Texas at 2:30 p.m.