Beach volleyball opened the fall season at home securing 11 wins out of 15 total matches. The UNA Fall invitational on Sept. 27 hosted Tennessee Tech and UT Martin for three pools with five matches each.
The Lions started the day at Pool A at the UNA beach volleyball courts and saw three overall victories.
Senior Selma Robinson and freshman Karsyn Griffin combined for a strong showing, with graduate Sarah Larkin Lewis and sophomore Bella Heyne adding the second win. Graduate student Audrey Gauthier and freshman Emma White closed the pool with a final victory.
From Sweden, Robinson has been proving to be a major asset for the team. She finished last season as Atlantic Sun Conference Doubles Pair of the Year winner with former partner Katy Floyd, Academic All-ASUN Conference and ASUN First Team. Robinson, junior Hope Dicken and senior Hailey Benesz take on as captains for the season.
“I was really pleased with the leadership of our captains Selma, Hope and Hailey, who served the team in many ways even though she didn’t play,” Head Coach Kaleb VanDePerre said.
Pool B contributed four wins, highlighted by sophomore Mabrey Whitehead and freshman Kiana Adamson who earned two of them. Sophomore duo Paige Griner and Brooke Bolden and juniors Lucy Wedding and Abby Robertson triumphed with the other two.
In Pool C, sophomore Jennah Atchley and freshman Izzy Coplan led the way with three wins, with junior Hope Dicken and freshman Gaby Harnden adding the fourth.
“I thought it was a pretty solid day overall,” said VanDePerre. “From a development standpoint, I thought we applied a lot of what we’ve been working on in practice the past few weeks which is really important as we grow towards the team we want to become. I was really impressed with our new bodies, especially Kiana and Jennah, who I thought made some really high-level plays.”
The coach said he was “really impressed” with the development of Whitehead, Bolden and Griner, who rose as sophomores this season. Both technically and in execution, VanDePerre believes they started the season strong and gave them a clear direction for improvement.
Up next for UNA beach volleyball is Alumni Weekend on Oct. 18 at the UNA Beach Volleyball Courts.
