Mustang Beach Volleyball on the rise in year three

Now in TMU Beach Volleyball’s third year, the growth of the Sandy Stangs’ program is evident.

From having a winning record its first season, to the team’s first-ever Golden State Athletic Conference Pair of the Year last year, to the program’s No. 6 ranking in the 2022 NAIA Preseason Coaches’ Poll – Head Coach and former Olympian Annett Davis has the Mustangs trending in an upward direction.

“When I was hired for this position, it was only months away from needing to have a team to play in the GSAC,” Davis said. “We had seven beach-only players and seven crossovers [who also played indoor].

“Last year we were blessed to have 10 beach-only athletes and one dedicated crossover. This year we have 14 beach-only athletes and two crossovers. Our program has grown tremendously. We are proud to have such a dedicated crew.”

The program’s growth has Davis expecting her team to take another step forward in 2022.

“We should be pretty competitive this year,” Davis said. “We have a lot of new athletes, so our goals are to continually improve so that we can become the best we can be.”

Despite the many new faces to the team, Davis is impressed with how quickly the squad has gelled together.

“The team chemistry is amazing,” Davis said. “We have a group of dedicated athletes who have the same passion and commitment to the sport, to each other and to the Lord. It’s a refreshing group to work with.”

The team’s work ethic on a daily basis has particularly impressed Davis.

“The beach team works hard daily,” Davis said. “They lift hard, train hard, condition hard and compete hard. With the dedication they put to being their best they should achieve their goals.”

Returners

While the Mustangs graduated All-GSAC selections and GSAC Pair of the Year, Katie Emmerling and Desi Brown, the squad returns key players Chloe Johnson, Kasie Spencer and Tara Long (Delk).

The talented trio all featured in TMU’s second and third pairings last year.

“I am expecting Chloe Johnson, Kasie Spencer and Tara Long to have strong seasons,” Davis said. “They all have improved their games tremendously and their level of maturity as players has grown as well. I’m excited to see what they can do.”

After playing for TMU Beach Volleyball in its first season in 2020, Emilye Grace Williams returns to the sand in 2022 after being one of the Mustangs’ leading offensive weapons throughout her four-year indoor career.

CJ Catabona and Gwen Garate also return for Master’s after the duo sported a winning record as a pairing last season.

Newcomers

TMU graduated one former transfer from Fresno CC in Emmerling but bring in another in Kassidy Wilson.

Both Wilson and freshman Evi Yates are expected to make immediate impacts in their first year as Mustangs and feature in TMU’s top-two pairings

“Junior transfer Kassidy Wilson brings a level of maturity and experience,” Davis said. “Freshman Evi Yates will have a big impact on our program. She is a big block and packs a lot of power.”

First-year players Kaylie Phelps, Annika Booker, Zoe Kira, and Abby Janho are also expected to feature regularly for the Sandy Stangs in the team’s top-six pairings.

Schedule

Sixth-ranked Master’s goes straight into conference play to begin its season with matches this weekend against No. 10 Arizona Christian University, (RV) Hope International and (RV) San Diego Christian.

The weekend slate starts a tremendously difficult GSAC schedule, with the conference having four teams ranked in the top-10 and another three receiving votes in the national rankings.

Master’s was picked to finish third in the GSAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, behind the top-two teams in the NAIA – No. 1 Ottawa University Arizona and No. 2 Vanguard University.

“It’s going to be extremely challenging,” Davis said of the GSAC season. “Our conference has some of the toughest teams in the nation. With an additional two teams joining our conference, it will help to make each other better and we should be one of the premier conferences in the NAIA.”

In-between conference matches throughout the season, the Mustangs will also play a tough non-conference schedule, which includes five matches against NCAA Division I opponents and another against NCAA Division II Concordia University Irvine.

“We are looking forward to playing teams we haven’t played before like University of Oregon and University of Nebraska,” Davis said.

After the conference regular season, all seven GSAC teams will qualify for the GSAC Championships April 8-9. On the first day of the tournament, seeds two through seven will play first round matches, before the semifinals and finals will take place on day two.

The teams will vie to be one of the six squads represented at the inaugural NAIA Beach Volleyball Invitational in Panama City, Florida April 21-23.