NO. 21 BLINN VOLLEYBALL RALLIES OUT OF 2-0 HOLE TO TOP RANGER IN FIVE-SET OPENER
Head coach Gregg Whitis earned his first victory with the Buccaneers
The 20th-ranked Blinn College volleyball team rallied for a season-opening 23-25, 20-25, 25-15, 25-21, 15-11 win over Ranger College in the Cisco/Ranger Tournament on Thursday in Ranger, Texas.
The victory was also the first of the Gregg Whitis era as the Buccaneers’ head coach made his debut with his new team.
“It was a tough environment for our kids tonight, but we fought back and found a way to win the match,” Whitis said. “Good teams find ways to win when they don’t play well, especially on the road.”
Inside of a packed Ron Butler Gymnasium, Blinn got off to a tough start as hitting errors slowed the Bucs early.
“Moving the scoreboard for the opponent is no way to win sets, and until we stopped scoring more for the other team than we did four ourselves, we were going to have a tough time,” Whitis added. “We showed some grit and did enough late, and it was good to get the first-match jitters out of the way.”
Blinn (1-0) began turning things around in the third set to stave off defeat.
Sophomore hitters Olivia Stringer and Kaliko Schilling gave the Bucs’ offense a boost with 20 and 15 kills, respectively, freshman hitters Annika Brooks and Kassandra De La Garza chipped in seven apiece, and sophomore middle blocker Karolina Karabasz tacked on six.
Sophomore setter Leah Hoss dished out 27 assists with two service aces and was followed by 17 assists from freshman setter Camden Bizot.
Whitis praised the defensive efforts of freshman defensive specialists/liberos Zoey Montgomery and Ann Kat Barrett, as well as the work freshman hitter/defensive specialist Gracie Moore delivered in serve receive.
“Those three made a difference,” Whitis said.
At the net, the Bucs collected 14 blocks, led by six block assists from sophomore middle blocker Jana Cetkovic. On the floor, freshman libero Aly Frias had a team-high 17 digs, while Schilling, Hoss, and Stringer added 13, 11, and 10, respectively.
Blinn gets right back to work Friday when it takes on McLennan Community College at 9 a.m. in Cisco, Texas. The Bucs then face Cisco College at 1 p.m. to close out the day. On Saturday, Blinn battles Coffeyville Community College at 9 a.m. and Cloud County Community College at 3 p.m. to conclude the tournament.
Story courtesy of Brenham Information