NO. 20 BUCCANEER VOLLEYBALL DEFEATS MCLENNAN AND CISCO, TO PUSH RECORD TO 3-0
Blinn will look to complete their unbeaten run at the Cisco/Ranger Tournament on Saturday
The 20th-ranked Blinn College volleyball team surged through day two of the Cisco/Ranger Tournament on Friday in Cisco, Texas.
The Buccaneers swept McLennan Community College 25-15, 25-20, 25-22 before outlasting host Cisco College 25-12, 18-25, 25-17, 25-14 to end the day.
Blinn head coach Gregg Whitis said he was encouraged by his team’s effort, adding that the Bucs are still working toward playing up to their full potential.
“We are a work in progress, but the girls are enthusiastic, and they show some real grit and play as a unit,” he said. “Those are good things that you want to see early in the season. They don’t give in; they don’t let go of the rope very easily. Those are characteristics that are going to allow us to get better.”
Blinn (3-0) opened the day with a tilt against a McLennan squad playing its first regular-season volleyball match in school history.
The Bucs controlled the match from the outset with what Whitis described as an efficient offensive performance to go with strong service from the line and cleaner hitting. Blinn collected 38 kills compared to just nine hitting errors.
Sophomore hitter Olivia Stringer knocked down a team-high nine kills, sophomore middle blocker Jana Cetkovic added eight, and sophomore hitter Kaliko Schilling followed with seven. Sophomore middle Karolina Karabasz and freshman hitter Kassandra De La Garza chipped in five and four kills, respectively.
Freshman setter Camden Bizot had 15 set assists and sophomore Leah Hoss tacked on 12 to keep the offense rolling.
At the service line, Hoss and freshman libero Aly Frias delivered three aces apiece.
Defensively, Stringer had nine digs while Bizot added seven. Cetkovic anchored the Bucs’ net defense with two solo blocks and three assists. Stringer added two block assists.
In game two, Blinn opened play against Cisco with what Whitis described as his team’s best set of the season thus far.
“We came out and jumped on them pretty good and played very clean volleyball,” Whitis explained.
In the second set, however, the Wranglers bounced back by taking advantage of some Blinn miscues.
Whitis said he left his lineup intact after the second-set loss to give his team a chance to respond, and the Bucs did just that.
“Our answer to a tough second set was to completely control the third and fourth sets from start to finish,” the coach said. “I was proud of the way they came out and responded.”
Schilling paced Blinn’s offense with 11 kills, while Stringer and freshman hitter Annika Brooks tallied 10 apiece. De La Garza added nine kills, Karabasz had six, and Cetkovic tacked on five. Hoss and Bizot again pioneered the offense with 24 and 21 set assists, respectively.
Schilling and Bizot had a team-best three aces apiece.
Defensively, Schilling hit the floor for a team-high 16 digs, Stringer collected 15, Hoss added 11, and freshman defensive specialist/libero Natalia Silva finished with nine. Karabasz had one solo block and one assist, and Brooks and Cetkovic recorded three assists each.
Blinn’s run at the Cisco/Ranger Tournament comes to a close Saturday when the Bucs battle Coffeyville Community College at 9 a.m. and Cloud County Community College at 3 p.m.
Story Courtesy of:
Joe Alberico
Blinn Sports Information Specialist