BRENHAM, Texas —Blinn College volleyball (20-7, 3-0) opened the final day of the Blinn Invitational with a sweep over Frank Phillips College, 3-0 (25-15, 25-14 and 25-11), before falling to No. 5 Navarro College, 3-2 (22-25, 17-25, 25-17, 25-19 and 13-15), on Saturday in the Kruse Center.
The Buccaneers concluded the Blinn Invitational with a 3-1 record after claiming three sweeps and forcing a fifth set against the fifth-ranked team in the nation.
"I am proud of the girls and how hard they played," said Terry Gamble, Blinn head coach. "We need to keep working hard and continue to improve."
Blinn 3 – Frank Phillips 0
Blinn opened the final day of the Blinn Invitational with a sweep over Frank Phillips, 3-0 (25-15, 25-14 and 25-11).
Shelby Sheets led Blinn's offense in the match with 25 kills, while Cheyenne Te'o led the defense with 11 digs. Roxanne Morris and Samantha Boatman combined for 30 assists in the match and Boatman led the Buccaneers with six aces. Lauren Symington and Taylor Henderson each recorded five blocks.
Blinn opened the match with a 25-15 win over Frank Phillips to set an early tone. The Buccaneers defeated Frank Phillips, 25-14, to hold a 2-0 lead in the match before taking the final set, 25-11, to sweep the Plainsmen.
Navarro 3 – Blinn 2
The Buccaneers came close to upsetting No. 5 Navarro to finish the tournament undefeated, but fell by the score of 3-2 (22-25, 17-25, 25-17, 25-19 and 13-15).
Sheets led the offense with 30 kills, while Henderson followed with 12 kills. Te'o led Blinn's defense with 18 digs, while also recording nine assists and three aces. In addition, Morris led with 25 assists, while posting eight kills. Boatman recorded 21 assists and followed Te'o with 11 digs, while Henderson led Blinn with three blocks.
After falling behind in the match 2-0, the Buccaneers rallied to win the next two sets to force the match into a fifth set. Navarro took the first two sets by the scores of 25-22 and 25-17, however Blinn fought back to even the score. The Buccaneers defeated Navarro 25-17 in the third set and 25-19 in the fourth set. The Buccaneers and Navarro played a close fifth set, but the Bulldogs managed a 15-13 victory.
Next, Blinn will compete against Paul Quinn College on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 6 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 38 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
