BLINN VOLLEYBALL PICKS UP TWO MORE WINS ON TUESDAY
Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information
A rare Region 14 doubleheader produced a common result for the Blinn College volleyball team.
After a schedule change meant the eighth-ranked Buccaneers would host both Tyler Junior College and Lee College on Tuesday, Blinn responded to the unique challenge with a pair of four-set victories.
The Bucs defeated Tyler 21-25, 25-21, 25-14, 25-23 in the opener and outlasted Lee 25-10, 25-12, 26-28, 25-9 in game two to push their season-high winning streak to 16.
Blinn improved to 32-1 overall and 8-1 in the region standings.
“This was a non-traditional way to play region matches, but it was good to see us get through today,” Bucs head coach Gregg Whitis said. “The best thing about today is that we showed a little bit of toughness against the circumstances as they were and we came out of it with two region wins.”
In the opener, Blinn went toe-to-toe with an Apaches squad that had won six consecutive matches. Tyler used a bit of that momentum to hand the Bucs their first set loss since Sept. 13, but Blinn responded immediately to take the next three sets.
“They came in with a six-game winning streak that included some wins against some pretty good teams,” Whitis explained. “I have a lot of respect for (head coach) Brandi Goldman, and since the last time we played Tyler, they made some tweaks to how they play; they reduced errors and tightened up their serve receive.”
Whitis said the Apaches came ready to play and controlled the entirety of the opening set but was impressed with how his team made adjustments the rest of the way.
“We served and hit better in sets two and three, and then in the fourth set, as we went back-and-forth with Tyler, we didn’t let go of the rope,” Whitis said. “We’ve been in situations like that before against teams like Amarillo College and Eastern Wyoming College, and I think being able to draw from those experiences helped us pull through.”
The set was tied at 23-all when a kill from Blinn sophomore hitter Kaliko Schilling and a spike out of bounds by the Apaches ended the match.
Schilling had a season-high 18 kills to lead the Bucs, followed by 16 for sophomore hitter Olivia Stringer.
Sophomore setters Leah Hoss and Camden Bizot dished out 24 and 17 set assists, respectively.
From the service line, Stringer delivered five of her team’s eight aces.
Blinn’s floor defense was anchored by a trio of double-digit kill performances. Stringer had 18, Schilling added 12, and freshman defensive specialist/libero Natalia Silva tacked on 10.
At the net, sophomore middle blocker continued her strong blocking campaign with three assists and a pair of solo blocks. Schilling, sophomore middle blocker Karolina Karabasz, and freshman hitter Annika Brooks chipped in two assists apiece. Schilling also had one solo block.
The Bucs’ day continued with a showdown against Lee, and Blinn rolled to a quick two-set lead over the Navigators.
In the third set, however, Lee staved off a sweep with a gritty comeback win.
“Lee fought us the entire way in the third set,” Whitis said. “We had a couple of chances to win the set, but we missed serves on match point and didn’t close it out. That comes down to concentration, and we made a long day longer. But again, we continue to be resilient, and I liked our response in the fourth set.”
The Bucs came out firing in the final set of the match, building a 10-3 lead before closing the match with a 7-2 run.
A Brooks kill set Blinn up for match point before the Navigators sent a ball out of bounds to send the hosts to victory.
“Our kids deserve a ton of credit for showing some toughness in winning back-to-back region,” Whitis said. “They’re overcoming adversity within the schedule and in each match, and you have to have some competitive maturity to answer and respond, and we did.”
Brooks posted a season-best 17 kills, while Stringer finished with 13. Schilling had seven and Cetkovic and Karabasz tallied six apiece.
Hoss had an impressive 35 set assists, followed by 14 for Bizot.
Schilling served up three aces and Stringer added two.
On the floor, freshman defensive specialist/libero Zoey Montgomery provided 11 digs.
At the net, the Bucs racked up a robust 28 block assists to go with five solo efforts.
Cetkovic had seven assists and four solo blocks, while Karabasz had seven assists. Brooks and freshman hitter/defensive specialist Gracie Moore had four assists apiece.
Blinn continues its season with a region road trip to Panola College at 6 p.m. on Thursday in Carthage, Texas.