BLINN VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS RECEIVE POSTSEASON HONORS

The 16th-ranked Blinn College volleyball team is set to compete in the NJCAA Division I Volleyball Championship beginning Thursday, Nov. 17, but now has a few more reasons to celebrate.

Four Buccaneers have been honored with Region XIV postseason awards after the team posted a 33-9 regular-season record and qualified for the national tournament by winning the Region XIV Tournament consolation bracket Sunday.

Sophomore hitter Kierslynn Wright, the NJCAA Division I leader in kills (605) was named the region's Newcomer of the Year and selected to the all-region first team. In her lone season as a Buc, Wright holds the program's second-highest single-season kill total behind Shelby Sheets (843 in 2018). She is also fourth in the country with 4.2 kills per set.

Sophomore libero Ellie Turner was also honored with a first-team all-region nod. Turner leads the nation with 949 digs and 6.73 digs per set. Turner is also Blinn's new single-season digs leader after breaking the previous record of 881 set by Amy Eichmann in 2002. She is currently fourth on the Bucs' career digs list.

Freshman middle blocker and hitter Taylor Glendening earned a spot on the second-team all-region squad with a strong debut season. Glendening is third on her team with 216 kills and has 81 block assists with 26 solo blocks.

Freshman hitter LaNeah Lara was recognized as an all-region honorable mention. In her first collegiate campaign, Lara has 452 kills (seventh in the nation) with 46 block assists and nine solo blocks.

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information