Tarleton State wins opener, drops final 2 to end run in Conference USA Championship

• Tarleton State vs. Sam Houston Box Score
• Tarleton State vs. Florida Atlantic Box Score
• Tarleton State vs. South Florida Box Score
• Overall Tarleton State Beach Volleyball Stats

YOUNGSVILLE, La. – Tarleton State defeated Sam Houston to open the 2026 Conference USA Beach Volleyball Championship, but dropped its final two matches on Thursday to end its 2026 campaign.

The Texans finished with 11 wins on the year, their most in a single-season in their short history, more than double the amount of wins in their first two years combined. Tarleton State finished 2026 11-18 overall, 7-0 at home, and 1-2 in the postseason conference tournament.

The 8-seed Texans defeated 9-seed Sam Houston (2-20) 3-2 in Thursday morning’s match at Sugar Beach in Youngsville, Louisiana. The two teams split Courts 1 and 4, then Sam Houston won Court 5 to take a 2-1 lead. Tarleton State won Court 3, then Court 2, to complete the comeback victory.

On Court 1, Sam Houston’s Tatum Lockhardt and Michaela Panekova defeated Tarleton State’s Allison Bryant and Candace Ceballos 21-18 21-16. The Texans’ Salome Galvez Lira and Taylor Orris got one back for Tarleton State, defeating Ella Folse and Laelah Quezada 21-14 22-20. On Court 5, Sam Houston’s Liliana Chuong and Haylee Masiero defeated Angelina Linke and Sofia Bendele 18-21 21-12 15-6. On Court 3, Camilla Chun and Emily Vickers defeated Avery Fowler and Payton Rink 20-22 21-19 15-9. On Court 2, Hayden Huber and Bella Parayno clinched the Tarleton State victory with a 21-19 17-21 15-10 win over Lexi Higgins and Kate Smith.

Tarleton State improved to 3-0 all-time against Sam Houston, all matches within the past two seasons, and 2-0 against the Bearkats in the postseason conference tournament. The Texans also secured a win in the conference tournament for the third straight year.

With the win, Tarleton State advanced in the Winner’s Bracket to face 1-seed Florida Atlantic at 2:30 p.m. The Owls (19-14) won 3-0, with wins on Courts 1-3. First, Klaire VanDeusen and Mia Scanlon won on Court 3 over Chun and Vickers 21-13 21-11. Then Olivia Strandberg and Ava Koehl won on Court 2 over Huber and Parayno 21-8 21-10. FAU clinched the team win on Court 1, with Denisse Morgenstern and Shantel Starling winning 21-12 21-15 over Bryant and Ceballos. Matches on Courts 4 and 5 went unfinished, with the Owls leading in both, Kendall Mignerey and Shayna Wolf 21-16 18-16 over Galvez Lira and Orris on Court 4, and Cameron Knifton and Allison Spittal 21-16 19-9 over Bendele and Christian Mitchell on Court 5.

With the loss, the Texans fell to the Contender’s Bracket, with no more losses to spare in the double elimination tournament. Tarleton State faced 4-seed South Florida at 5:30 p.m. The Bulls (20-14) won 3-0, with wins on Courts 2-4. USF’s Julia Panko and Cornelia Crudu led off with a 21-18 21-17 win on Court 2 over Huber and Parayno. Then on Court 3, Morgan Anderson and Abigail Lagemann defeated Chun and Vickers 21-9 21-14. The team match was clinched on Court 4, with Sasha Pasloski and Ryann Genest defeating Galvez Lira and Orris 21-14 21-14. On Court 1, Tarleton State’s Bryant and Ceballos led Isabella Almeida and Zoey Mitchell 21-14 16-19, with the match unfinished. Court 5 also went unfinished, with USF’s Ariana Medchill and Kate Stewart leading Bendele and Mitchell 21-15 16-15.