Tarleton State Beach Volleyball starts opening weekend 3-1 in Kingsville

• Box Score vs. Texas Wesleyan
• Box Score vs. Wayland Baptist
• Box Score vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor
• Box Score at Texas A&M-Kingsville

KINGSVILLE – It was a strong start to Tarleton State’s second season of existence, as the Texans went 3-1 in their opening weekend of the 2025 season.

Tarleton State (3-1) went 2-0 on Friday with wins against Texas Wesleyan 4-1 and Wayland Baptist 5-0, before splitting the slate on Saturday with Mary Hardin-Baylor 4-1 and the host Texas A&M-Kingsville 1-4. Through the opening weekend, Tarleton State has already surpassed its number of wins across the entirety of its inaugural campaign last year.

“I am beyond proud of my team,” head coach Dayna Masters said. “We have been working hard in adverse conditions leading up to the tournament and felt that we were in the right position to compete. It was very rewarding to see their progress at work and bringing home a few wins to our fan base was also very exciting. My favorite moment of the weekend was after the last match on Day 1 after going 2-0, the team spontaneously started singing the fight song at the Javelina courts. It was a day to remember!”

On Friday, Tarleton State faced a pair of other new teams at the Javelina Beach Classic in Kingsville, taking on second-year Texas Wesleyan first-year Wayland Baptist. Tarleton’s four returners all went undefeated on the first day of the two-day event, including the Texan top court of Emma Halcomb and Allison Bryant, who led the Texans last season at 7-6 overall. The seniors started 2-0 with wins over Texas Wesleyan’s Kali Liva and Victoria Smith 21-18 21-9, followed by a three-set win over Wayland Baptist’s Emily Buchberger and Selma Sutaj 21-9 17-21 15-7.

Grayson Schirpik, one of Tarleton’s returners, had a strong debut with freshman Bella Parayno on Court 2. The pair won under pressure in the morning match with a three-set win over Texas Wesleyan’s Emily Lewis and Emily White 21-12 17-21 15-13. Schirpik and Parayno then dominated Match No. 2 over Wayland Baptist’s Carlee Heidebrecht and Martyna Lewinska 21-12 21-10.

On Court 3, the Texans featured two transfers in Amaya Brown and Christian Mitchell. The pair went 2-0 for a perfect birthday gift for the senior Brown, a three-set win over Texas Wesleyan’s Holand Hancock and Amber Smart 21-15 15-21 15-12, followed by a 21-12 21-11 sweep over Wayland Baptist’s Jordan Schlageter and Deniz Yileri.

Court 4 also featured new Texan transfers in Jayda Harris-Amete and Hayden Huber. Tarleton lost the morning match to Texas Wesleyan’s Reagan Fitzimmons and Hope Miller 19-21 14-21, but responded with a 21-10 21-19 win against Wayland Baptist’s Frida Espeseth and Henry Soquet-Bress.

Texan returner Charlize Ching paired up with freshman Olivia Fuentes on Court 5, going 2-0 against Texas Wesleyan’s Makenna Gantt and Grace Pavelka 21-10 21-14 and Wayland Baptist’s Averi Penner and Luiza Valentim 21-10 21-14.

On Saturday, Ching and Fuentes were the lone pair to win both matches and are now 4-0 on the year at Court 5. The Texan duo defeated UMHB’s Jacie Perkins and Reagan Sawyer 24-26 21-18 15-10, then took down Kingsville’s Cl Presmanes-Garate and Elizabeth Williams 21-16 21-19.

In the first match on Saturday, Tarleton got three other wins from Halcomb and Bryant over Julianna Green and Natasha Thoms 21-15 21-10, Schirpik and Parayno over Kelli Northup and Heidi Farrar 21-18 16-21 15-13, and Harris-Amete and Huber over Shelby Adkins and Kendall Harrington 21-13 21-17. UMHB’s Saige De La Fuente and Ashley Salas defeated Brown and Mitchell on Court 3 23-21 21-7.

Texas A&M-Kingsville took the victories in straight sets on Courts 1-4, with Liana Huesca and Rylan Pollard defeating Bryant and Halcomb 21-14 21-15, Kalani Vasquez and Madelyn Wallace defeating Schirpik and Parayno 21-18 22-20, Laura Betsa and Taylor McCarthy defeating Brown and Mitchell 21-18 21-8, and Emma Daughtery and Meghan Stiefer defeating Harris-Amete and Huber 21-15 21-19.

Tarleton State will be back in Kingsville for another tournament this upcoming weekend, the Javelina Beach Showdown featuring the Texans, UTEP, Colorado Mesa, and Texas A&M-Kingsville.