The UCA Beach Volleyball team lost all four of its games this weekend at the Tiger Beach Challenge, hosted by Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
UCA Beach (0-8) faced Tulane University (8-2) and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (7-2) on March 2, losing 5-0 to both. The Bears returned the next day and played against the University of Nebraska (8-3) and The University of Southern Mississippi (8-2), losing 5-0 and 4-1 respectively.
“I felt like we had some great moments at every pair. We didn’t get the results we were hoping to get, but competing against amazing programs like the ones we played this weekend makes us better for the future,” said Erin Martin, assistant beach volleyball coach. “We are a team that is finding our footing after a whole program rebuild. Overall, I know we are only at the base of our mountain. We just have to keep climbing and chipping away at getting better every week.”
The Beach Bears started their run in Baton Rouge with a game against the Tulane Green Wave. Tulane was undefeated in the season heading into the Tiger Beach Challenge and has won every matchup with UCA since they first faced each other in 2017. The Bears’ defeat this weekend marks Tulane’s seventh win against them.
The Bears pushed onward to their next game later that day against the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Islanders. The Beach Bears put up a fight but were overpowered 5-0 by the Islanders. UCA hasn’t beaten the Islanders since March 2018, the last time they played each other in Baton Rouge. This defeat brings Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi to a 5-3 record against the Bears.
The Beach Bears then had a night to recover and prepare for the final two games of the tournament against the Nebraska Huskers and Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles on March 3.
UCA managed to take a few sets against the Huskers but couldn’t secure the win and suffered another 5-0 loss. This is the first time the Bears and the Huskers have faced each other in beach volleyball.
That same afternoon the Bears played against Southern Mississippi. UCA took more sets against the Golden Eagles and was able to take a match but still faltered 4-1 in the end.
“Coming up short is never easy, but overall I think the team learned a lot about ourselves and what we need to do to take care of our end of the game moving into our next matches,” graduate defender Brooke Kuball said. “I’m proud of all of our pairs for continuing to fight for every point throughout the entirety of the weekend, no matter the situation or the score.”
Senior split blocker Anna Collums said, “I think that our team’s performance was definitely one that got better over the weekend.
“Our first day wasn’t our best, but we adjusted on areas that we needed to and made things better overall on the second day. I’m really proud of our fights against some of the best teams in the country right now,” Collums said. “An area that I hope to improve on would be consistency. We are having a lot of amazing moments, but we want to have those happen on a more consistent basis”
Collums also praised her teammate Payton Sproule’s performance in the tournament.
“Payton Sproule did awesome this weekend,” Columns said. “We took Nebraska to three sets and won in two sets against Southern Miss. Payton’s side-out game and defense were amazing.”
The Beach Bears will head back to Louisiana on March 8 to compete in the Southeastern Invitational in Hammond, Louisiana, where they will compete against Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Southeastern Louisiana University, Spring Hill College and McNeese State University.