KINGSVILLE, Texas – The second season for Tarleton State Beach Volleyball will officially get underway this weekend, as the Texans will begin their 2025 slate at the Javelina Beach Classic in Kingsville Friday-Saturday.
 
Tarleton State will play in four matches, starting with Texas Wesleyan (10 a.m.) and Wayland Baptist (12 p.m.) on Friday, followed by Mary Hardin-Baylor (12 p.m.) and the host Texas A&M-Kingsville (4 p.m.) on Saturday.
 
"This team is excited to be on the road this week and competing for the first time this season," head coach Dayna Masters said. "We are looking forward to a fun and competitive weekend. The weather won't be ideal, but we have prepared in the elements to get ready for days like this. My goal for the team is to establish a baseline as to where we are so we know what we need to work on moving forward."
 
Like the freeze in Stephenville, Kingsville will also have inclement weather over the next couple of days, scheduled to be a high of 41 degrees on Friday with a 14 percent chance of precipitation, followed by a high of 45 degrees and 66 percent chance of rain on Saturday. The lows are much higher than what's been in Stephenville recently, forecast for 35 degrees and 41 degrees, respectively.
 
Under first-year head coach Masters, Tarleton State has retained four players from a year ago; Allison Bryant, Charlize Ching, Emma Halcomb and Grayson Schirpik. Bryant and Halcomb played all matches on the top court last year, while Schirpik primarily played on Court 2.
 
This weekend, Tarleton plans to have the following court pairings; Bryant and Halcomb on No. 1, Schiripk and Bella Parayno on No. 2, Amaya Brown and Christian Mitchell on No. 3, Hayden Huber and Jayda Harris-Amete on No. 4, and Ching with Olivia Fuentes on No. 5. Sofia Bendele and Camilla Chun will also travel.
 
Halcomb and Bryant were Tarleton's best duo last year, finishing 7-6 on the top court together. The duo had five 2-0 victories across seven wins, including Court 1 matches against Stephen F. Austin, Louisiana-Monroe and Texas A&M-Kingsville. They had a season-long three-match winning streak from March 22-29 with three 2-0 victories against Texas A&M-Kingsville, Hendrix and ULM.
 
Parayno will make her Texan debut with Schirpik, who logged three victories last season, including a win on Court 2 against Texas A&M-Kingsville. Parayno is a freshman from James Bowie High School, a top prospect hailing from Austin, Texas.
 
On Court 3 will feature transfers Brown and Mitchell. Brown played the last several years at Arizona Christian, where she was a consistent First Team All-Conference player. Mitchell arrived in Stephenville from North Alabama, where she won two matches in three chances last season, including a win over Central Arkansas. Huber is back in Texas where she spent time with TCU after a season spent last year at Arizona State. Harris-Amete, meanwhile, joined the Texans from California, where she played two beach seasons at Cerritos College.
 
Tarleton's competition in Kingsville features two new teams, like the Texans, and two teams coming off of strong 2024 campaigns. First the Texans will face Texas Wesleyan, who enters its second year of existence after going 3-12 in their inaugural campaign. Next up on Saturday is Wayland Baptist, who is in its first year as a program. The Pioneers started their season 1-1 with a split against Arizona Christian two weeks ago.
 
Tarleton's opponents on Sunday went a combined 44-15 (.746) last season. The Cru finished 26-4 and 9-0 in conference play, winning the American Volleyball Coaches Association Small College Beach Division III Championship. Texas A&M-Kingsville finished 18-11 overall, winning the AVCA Small College Beach Volleyball Championships Silver Bracket.
 
There will not be live scoring or a stream at the Javelina Beach Classic. Results and updates can be found at Tarleton State Beach Volleyball's social media accounts and www.tarletonsports.com.