BLINN VOLLEYBALL GETS 30TH WIN WITH SWEEP OVER LEE COLLEGE
Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information
The ninth-ranked Blinn College volleyball team kept up its impressive winning streak with another sweep in a Region 14 match against Lee College on Thursday in Baytown, Texas.
The Buccaneers cruised to a 25-13, 25-12, 25-20 victory over the Navigators.
Blinn improved to 30-1 (6-1 Region 14) on the heels of its 14th win in a row and 10th consecutive sweep.
“It was good to get back at it and good to get a region road win,” Bucs head coach Gregg Whitis said. “We didn’t have our best hitting night, but we’re good at finding ways to play well in other areas, and that’s what we did tonight.”
Whitis said his team countered an off hitting night with strong serving, blocking, and floor defense. The coach was able to empty his bench in the third set.
Sophomore hitter Kaliko Schilling had a team-high nine kills paired with six digs, while fellow sophomore hitter Olivia Stringer added eight kills and tied for the team lead with 10 digs.
Sophomore setter Leah Hoss helped the Bucs’ attack to the tune of 18 set assists.
Freshman defensive specialist/libero Natalia Silva and sophomore setter Camden Bizot each had two service aces.
Silva also had 10 digs. Hoss and freshman defensive specialist/libero Zoey Montgomery added eight apiece.
“Our floor defense tonight was good against a team that was really trying not to get blocked,” Whitis explained. “Lee ran some exotic routes that we really had to track, and we worked hard to understand what they were trying to do. When they were able to get free from our block and hit the ball over the net, our floor defense was there.”
At the next, sophomore middle blocker Jana Cetkovic led Blinn with four block assists, and sophomore middle blocker Karolina Karabasz and freshman hitter Annika Brooks tallied three apiece. Schilling had two assists and sophomore hitter Shiloh Jones added one solo block with one assist.
The Bucs continue region play with a doubleheader against Tyler Junior College (2 p.m.) and Lee (6 p.m.) on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas. The twin bill is the result of a schedule shakeup after Blinn and the Navigators were originally scheduled to face off Oct. 23 in Brenham.