TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Following a strong opening weekend, the HCU beach program is set to play on the road for the first time this season at the Florida State Seminole Beach Bash at the FSU Beach Volleyball Courts on Friday and Saturday.
The Huskies (3-1) will be part of a field of four teams that include No. 7 Florida State (5-0), No. 15 Georgia State (2-2) and a CSU Bakersfield (1-1) receiving votes in this week's AVCA Coaches Top 20 Poll. HCU will face CSUB on Friday, Feb. 28, at 9:15 a.m. CT before facing Georgia State at 12:15 p.m. CT. Then, on Saturday, Mar. 1, the Huskies will take on Florida State at 9:15 a.m. CT with their fourth match TBD depending on results.
HCU opened the year with three-straight wins over Sam Houston, UTEP and Central Arkansas before dropping the finale of the Third Coast College Classic to 15
th-ranked Texas, 4-1. HCU's No. 1 pair of
Kristin Gilmour and
Rachel Heilbrun went 3-0 on the weekend, with their matchup against Sam Houston abandoned due to inclement weather, and earned the first Southland Conference Pair of the Week honor of the season. Additionally, HCU's court 3 pair of
Karla Sanchez George and
Lauren Vickery went 3-1 while
Alexa Landmark and
Paige Palmer posted the same record on court 3.
The seventh-ranked Seminoles had a perfect opening weekend in Hattiesburg, Miss. with a 3-2 win over then No. 8 LSU among their wins. FSU also beat North Alabama, Spring Hill College, Florida Gulf Coast and Southern Miss. The duo of junior Alexis Durish and senior Audrey Koenig were FSU's top pair, posting a 4-0 record playing on court 1.
Georgia State faced a strong field at the Tampa Invitational, earning a 3-2 win over No. 17 Florida International and defeating Tampa, 4-1, while dropping a pair of 3-2 decisions to No. 14 Washington and No. 16 Florida Atlantic. Michaela Jefferson and Danica Singleton finished the weekend with a 3-0 record, winning twice at the fours and once at the fives, while No. 1 pair Savannah Ebarb and Destiny White finished 3-1.
CSUB made the trip to Malibu, Calif. for a pair of matchups last Friday, Feb. 21, defeating host Pepperdine, 3-2, before falling 5-0 to No. 9 California. The Roadrunners' three points to win the dual against Pepperdine came on courts 3, 4 and 5. No. 3 pair Ella Erteltova and Vivi Kaelin and No. 5 pair Bailey Combs and Brooklyn Thomas both won in two sets.
Following the Huskies' trip to Tallahassee they will go to Birmingham, Ala. on Friday, Mar. 7, to take on UAB and UT Martin.
