TAVARES, Fla. - The Stevenson women's beach volleyball team went 1-1 in day one at the AVCA Small College National Championship at Hickory Point Beach Friday. After falling to top-seeded Texas A&M-Kingsville 5-0, the Mustangs upended No. 6 seed Division II Saint Leo 3-2.
Against the Lions, a team Stevenson lost to 4-1 last month, three matches were decided in three sets. At No. 1, Katie Leftridge and Trang Christensen won a marathon second set and were able to win 22-20, 33-31. Emily Castro and Caroline Dangel pulled out a 21-14, 18-21, 16-14 win at No. 3, while in the fourth flight, Mackenzie Blevins and Emily Pellini rallied to win 14-21, 21-14, 15-13.
Darian Hileman and Piper Connors fell 14-21, 21-15, 15-11 at No. 2. At No. 5, Lizi Cudal and Grace Chaffee dropped two close sets by scores of 21-19, 21-18.
Against the top-seeded Javelinas, Leftridge and Christensen forced a third set before falling 21-15, 14-21, 15-9.
In the "Best of the Rest" pairs tournament, Julie Nightwine and Victoria Prokic were 21-9, 21-16 winners against Spring Hill.
Stevenson returns to action Saturday at 8 am against No. 12 seed Eckerd to complete pool play. The Mustangs will then play two challenge round matches to determine Sunday's final brackets.
