Club Beach Volleyball Opens Program With Pair of Wins in Alabama

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Reinhardt continued to make history earlier this week, as the Eagles' club beach volleyball squad played its first matches in history and won both – 3-2 over NCAA Division III Huntingdon (Ala.) and 5-0 over William Carey (Miss.).

"I am very excited to announce that we are officially starting beach volleyball here at RU," head coach Brian Goodhind said. "It is the fastest growing sport in college over the last seven years… Growing over 130 percent since its first season. As a smaller school, we are excited about the opportunity to represent Reinhardt at the AVCA Small College Championships in Tavares, Fla. We are hoping to be a part of growing the sport in the NAIA and help to launch it like the NCAA has. Right now, the NCAA has done such a great job growing the sport and the AVCA has stepped in and allowed NCAA DII, DIII, junior colleges and NAIA schools to have a national championship to play for.

It is truly exciting to be a part of this now and I look forward to helping even more athletes here at RU. Thank you to the President, the committee and Coach Popp for giving beach volleyball the opportunity to be a part of the RU family. To God go all the glory."

Here are the results from the pair of outings against Huntingdon and William Carey: 

Reinhardt (Ga.) 3, Huntingdon (Ala.) 2
No. 1: Tessa Colden-Carlee Baxter (RU) def.
           Cheyenne Scarbrough-Halee Hatcher (HC) 21-8, 217

No. 2: Sarah Roberts-Bri Baez (RU) def.
           Nichole LeFevre-Addison Genard (HC) 21-12, 21-13

No. 3: Lexie DeVuyst-Amy Tyma (HC) def.
           Emily Charbonneau-Erinn Maraquin (RU) 21-15, 21-13

No. 4: Holly Heath-Kaitlin Reike (RU) def.
           Kaitlyn Carter-Shelby McAllister (HC) 21-18, 21-17

No. 5: Alexis Creasman-April Reese (HC) def.
          Hannah Berquist-Nicole Licciardello (RU) 18-21, 21-18, 15-7

Reinhardt (Ga.) 5, William Carey (Miss.) 0
No. 1: Tessa Colden-Carlee Baxter (RU) def.
          Gillian Tripp-Raquel Munoz (WCU) 21-9, 21-11

No. 2: Sarah Roberts-Bri Baez (RU) def.
          Baylee Fairbanks-Carly Merry (WCU) 21-6, 21-11

No. 3: Holly Heath-Kaitlin Reike (RU) def.
           Jordan Stephens- Lisa Faolotoi (WCU) 21-14, 21-8

No. 4: Emily Charboneau-Erinn Marraquin (RU) def.
           London Parrault-Logan Hamlin (WCU) 21-14, 21-17

No. 5: Hannah Berquist-Nicole Licciardello (RU) def.
           Raegan Neslony-Kennedy Horn (WCU) 21-13, 21-15

From Erinn Marroquin:
Playing beach was different because it's only you and your partner playing with each other and building off of each other's energy. Unlike indoor, you don't have five other girls to pick up the slack for you, it's just you and one other person. So, you really have to be there for you partner through the ups and downs. It was really fun to be able to do every aspect of volleyball that I can't do in indoor – like blocking and hitting. Being able to be outdoors and play with Emily was a great experience. Our whole team was supporting whatever girls were playing at the time and we were all so positive for one another. We all had a blast just being with each other and experiencing our first beach matches here at Reinhardt.

From Coach Goodhind:
We beat host, University of Huntington, 3-2, on Friday with our No. 1 pairing, No. 2 and No. 4 winning to bring home the match for us after Huntington had beaten our third and fifth pairing. Carlee Baxter/Tessa Colden is our top pairing with Sarah Roberts/Brianna Baez as our No. 2. Third through fifth parings were: Emily Charbanneau/Erinn Marroquin, Holly Heath/Kaitlin Reike and Nicole L/Hannah Berquist. In the second match on Friday, we played William Carey and were able to win that match, 5-0, with all five pairings winning in straight sets. 

It was pretty awesome being a part of the first-ever collegiate beach match for our University. These girls have been working really hard through the spring semester; practicing off campus at a couple beach courts located at Blitz Sports in Canton. I'm trying to build a beach program here, and what an exciting way to get us started with winning our first-ever dual. Things are really exciting right now within the volleyball program, and we hope to continue to grow our sport and continue to represent Reinhardt to the highest of standards while honoring and glorifying God; to Him go all the Glory.

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For more information on Reinhardt Beach Volleyball, please click here.