BLINN VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS SHELTON AND SCOTT NAMED NJCAA ALL-AMERICAN

Blinn College outside hitter Jayde Shelton (San Diego, Calif.) and setter Loren Scott (Tallahassee, Fla.) earned NJCAA All-America honors after leading the Buccaneers to a fifth-place finish at the NJCAA Division I Volleyball Championship.

“Having two All-Americans is so exciting for this program and all of the girls involved, and shows what this team has accomplished,” head coach Terry Gamble said. “Jayde hit over .500 twice at the national championship, which is tremendous, and Loren ran our offense and did a great job. These girls came to work every day to get better and I am so excited for both of them.”

Shelton was named a first team All-American, while Scott was named a second team All-American. After claiming the Region XIV conference title and finishing second in the Region XIV tournament, the seventh-ranked Buccaneers made their first trip to the NJCAA Division I Volleyball Championship since 2015 where they finished in fifth place.

Shelton was named Region XIV Player of the Year as a freshman. She finished second in the nation with 442 total kills, fourth in the nation with 4.46 kills per set, and eighth in the nation with a .378 hitting percentage in 99 sets. She was second on the team with 102 total blocks.

She was named to the NJCAA all-tournament team for her impressive performance at nationals. She led the Buccaneers with 78 kills and a .379 hitting percentage in 16 sets.

“It is an amazing feeling to know all of the early mornings and late nights paid off,” Shelton said. “By far this has been my favorite team to be a part of and without them I wouldn’t be an All-American. I am truly blessed to have these opportunities to play a game that I truly love and have a team and coaches who are in my corner, and an extremely supportive family.”

Scott was named Region XIV Setter of the Year as a freshman and finished third in the nation with 1,043 total assists and sixth in the nation with 10.54 assists per set in 99 sets. He also totaled 87 kills and was third on the team with 219 digs.

“It is super exciting and such an honor to be recognized along with so many great players across the nation,” Scott said. “This program has been so fun to be a part of, I have loved being a part of this team, and am so proud of how this team represented Blinn College. Everyone on this team supports and encourages each other, constantly pushes each other to continue to improve, and that was one of the biggest things that helped me.”

Blinn concluded the season with a 27-3 record. The Buccaneers went 3-1 in the national tournament and upset fourth-ranked Utah State University Eastern and No. 2 Odessa College for a fifth-place finish.

For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.

(COURTESY: Tara Dreyer, Blinn Infomation)