THIBODAUX, La. – For the second weekend in a row, the HCU beach volleyball team is set for a three-day, six-dual stretch as the Huskies face six Southland Conference rivals at the Thibodaux Regional Sports Complex from Friday through Sunday at the Southland Mid-Season Tournament.
HCU (5-11, 0-2 SLC) and all eight of the other SLC programs will be in Thibodaux for the event, setting up seeding for the SLC Championship to be held in New Orleans, La. In April. The Huskies will first take on Nicholls (0-12, 0-2 SLC) on Friday, Mar. 21, at 9:00 a.m. before facing Southeastern (4-10, 1-1 SLC) that afternoon at 1:00 p.m. On Saturday, Mar. 22, the day will start against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (7-8, 2-0 SLC) at 9:00 a.m. with a matchup against New Orleans (2-14, 1-1 SLC) set for 5:00 p.m. Sunday, Mar. 23, kicks off at 11:00 a.m. for the Huskies against McNeese (8-6, 1-1 SLC) before they wrap things up against Stephen F. Austin (9-7, 1-1 SLC) at 3:00 p.m.
The Huskies are aiming to snap an eight-match losing skid after opening the season with a 5-3 record against a schedule that included three top-20 opponents and two duals against a team receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll. The No. 1 pair of
Kristin Gilmour and
Rachel Heilbrun continue to pace the Huskies, owning a 9-6 record this season. HCU's pairs on court 4 with a total record of 7-9 shared by the duos of
Karla Sanchez George/
Lauren Vickery and
Alexa Landmark/
Paige Palmer.
Nicholls at a tournament hosted by UMHB in Belton, Texas two weekends ago. Southeastern is coming off a 1-3 weekend at the Sugar Beach Bash in Youngsville, La. last weekend, defeating Central Arkansas while falling to UT Martin, Spring Hill and ULM. Anne Brauckmiller/Aspen Steele own the team's best record, sitting at 6-3 on the year while playing primarily at the fives.
The Islanders were in California last weekend at a tournament hosted by Stanford, defeating St. Mary's while falling to the No. 5 Cardinal twice and losing a dual to Utah. The Islanders boast two pairs with eight wins so far with Jade Bennett/Bryce Ranney sitting at 8-3 playing on courts 4 and 5 while No. 1 pair Madison Morrow/Tess Spaansen is 8-5.
New Orleans has lost nine-straight, including four last weekend at the Sugar Beach Bash. The pair of Jaedyn Newman/Ashley Salazar leads the team with four wins and a 4-7 overall record. Rylee Lansing/Kendall Osgood have been the top-performing pair for the McNeese Cowgirls, holding a 10-3 record playing exclusively at the twos.
SFA won four duals last weekend at a home tournament, defeating the likes of Mary Hardin-Baylor, McNeese, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Sam Houston. The pair of Lizzie Denyer/Olivia Zeigler picked up SLC Pair of the Week honors after a 4-0 weekend at court 2.
