HOUSTON – Tarleton State Beach Volleyball dropped close matches to Saint Mary's and Houston Christian during the opening weekend of 2026 play.
The Texans (0-4) fell 3-2 at Houston Christian and 4-1 against Southern Miss on Friday, then 5-0 against Cal Poly and 3-2 against Saint Mary's on Saturday. The final match on Saturday against the Gaels was the most competitive, with Tarleton State winning on the top two courts, and dropping a pair of 21-19 second sets on Courts 3 and 5.
"I'm incredibly proud of how our team competed this weekend," said head coach
Dayna Masters. "We represented Tarleton State with grit and purpose, and we accomplished one of our main goals – making some very good teams uncomfortable. Our pairs showed real growth in their connections and were able to find some big wins along the way. The way this team represented our program speaks volumes about who we are and where we're headed."
Hayden Huber and
Bella Parayno had the best weekend for the Texans, finishing 2-2 with wins over Houston Christian and Saint Mary's on Court 2. They started the weekend with a 21-15, 21-19 win over HCU's Paige Palmer and Hannah Foor, then beat Saint Mary's Bella Reyes and Genevieve Bane 21-17, 21-19.
Tarleton State got a win on Courts 1, 4, and 5 across the weekend, with its Court 1 pair
Allison Bryant and
Candace Ceballos beating Saint Mary's Nya Crump and Angie Bour 14-21, 21-18, 19-17. On Friday against Southern Miss on Court 4,
Emily Vickers and
Taylor Orris defeated Iustina Corcoz and Margarita Grigoreva 21-19, 21-17. On Court 5,
Sofia Bendele and
Angelina Linke earned a victory against HCU's Mycah Whittemore and Allie Patton 21-14, 13-21, 15-12.
The Texans paired
Camilla Chun and
Christian Mitchell together on Court 3.
Next up, the Texans will host their first home regular season match since their inaugural season in 2024. Tarleton State will play a doubleheader against Concordia on Wednesday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. in Stephenville.
