TYLER, Texas — Blinn College volleyball (16-6, 2-0)) concluded the Tyler Tournament with two big wins against ranked opponents No. 6 Seward County Community College and No. 9 Hill College on Saturday afternoon.
The Buccaneers opened the day with a 3-1 (19-25, 26-24, 25-18 and 25-17) win over Seward County and finished the tournament with a 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-18 and 25-23) victory over Hill.
"I'm proud of the girls and how they competed all weekend and to beat the sixth and ninth-ranked teams in the country in back-to-back matches says how much the girls are working hard and improving," said Terry Gamble, Blinn head coach. "We passed the ball better than we have all season and controlled the tempo. These wins were a really big team effort."
With the wins, the Buccaneers closed out the Tyler Tournament with a 3-1 record. Shelby Sheets led the offense with 108 kills for a .335 hitting percentage, while also serving 11 aces in four games.
Blinn 3 – Seward County 1
The Buccaneers opened the day with an upset over Seward County, 3-1.
Sheets led the offense with 26 kills and six aces, while Roxanne Morris led Blinn with 23 assists. She also posted eight kills and three blocks, while serving three aces. Jasmine McLemore followed with six kills and also recorded four blocks.
On defense, Cheyenne Te'o led with 15 digs and Taylor Henderson led with five blocks.
Although the Buccaneers fell behind early in the match after being defeated 25-19 in the first set, they bounced back to finish the second set ahead 26-24. Blinn secured the win after defeating Seward County by the scores of 25-18 and 25-17 in the third and fourth sets, respectively.
Blinn 3 – Hill 1
Shelby Sheets recorded 31 kills in Blinn's 3-1 victory over Hill as the Buccaneers pulled off their second straight upset.
Te'o led Blinn's defense with 20 digs, while Morris followed with 13 digs. She also led Blinn with 23 assists and followed Sheets with 12 kills. In addition, Henderson recoded 10 kills and four blocks in the match.
Blinn rolled into the second match of the day with the momentum to take the first set 25-22. Hill fought back in the second set for a 25-23 victory to even the match, but Blinn took the lead back with a 25-18 win in the third set. Blinn finished off Hill with a 25-23 victory in the fourth set.
The Buccaneers look to remain undefeated in conference play on the road against Laredo Community College on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 38 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
