Tarleton State’s season ends at Sugar Beach Thursday in Conference USA Beach Volleyball Championship

YOUNGSVILLE, La. - Tarleton State Beach Volleyball played three matches on Thursday in its quest for a conference championship, but the Texans' season ended in the nightcap against Missouri State in the Conference USA Beach Volleyball Championship.

Tarleton State finishes its second season in program history at 6-17, posting four more wins than its inaugural season. Tarleton State won a match in the Conference USA Beach Volleyball Championship in back-to-back years, sweeping Sam Houston 3-0 in the second match on Thursday. The 7-seed Texans opened against 2-seed Tulane and fell 3-0, then dropped their elimination match against 6-seed Missouri State at Sugar Beach in Youngsville, Louisiana.

The Texans competed in all three matches, and even with a 3-0 defeat in the nightcap, most sets were razor thin. Against Missouri State, and were tied at 20-20 in Set 2 after a 23-21 loss in Set 1 to Becca Bach and Allyson Larkin, and the other unfinished match showcased and leading the second set after a 21-19 first set loss against MacKenzie Steele and Amanda Cleary. The finished matches came in order of Courts 5, 4, 3, with Olivia Rattler and Erin Eschleman defeating and 21-19 21-17 at No. 5, Rylie Cepicky and Manuela Niemeyer defeating and 21-14 21-11 at No. 4, and Morgan Sprague and Maddie Schrandt defeating and 21-18 21-18 at No. 3.

In Tarleton's win against Sam Houston, the Texans ended the Bearkats' season in the elimination match. First, Bendele and Mitchell took down Talan Dodson and Bella Wood on Court 4 21-10 21-10. Then Chun and Ching beat Abby Clayton and Lylah Washington 21-13 21-14 on Court 5. On Court 2, Schirpik and Huber ended the team match with a 21-8 21-19 win over Hannah Baker and McKenzie Morvant. Courts 1 and 3 were unfinished, with Parayno and Brown leading by a set (25-23) over Kenedi Miller and Ella Folse on No. 3, and Halcomb and Bryant trailing by a set (21-17) against Avery Fowler and Michaela Panekova on Court 1.

Against Tulane in Tarleton's conference opener, the order was 5, 3, 4, with Courts 1-2 unfinished. Amelia Mullen and Avery Burks defeated Chun and Ching 21-7 21-17 at No. 5. Then Gigi Gallegos and Sam O'Connor defeated Parayno and Brown 21-12 21-11 at No. 3. On Court 4, Sara Hall and Samantha Green defeated Bendele and Mitchell 21-10 21-11. Both Halcomb-Bryant and Schirpik-Huber lost their first sets 21-18.

Halcomb and Bryant didn't see a match to the end on Thursday, as Tarleton's top pair finished its season 10-10 together. Schirpik and Huber went 1-1, while Bendele-Mitchell and Chun-Ching each picked up a win against Sam Houston.