The 13th-ranked Blinn College volleyball team extended its season-opening win streak to seven matches before finally suffering its first defeat in its final contest at the Applebee's Classic in Brenham Saturday.
Blinn defeated Temple 25-22, 21-25, 25-18, 25-13 before falling to Panola 25-19, 18-25, 22-25, 25-19, 9-15. The Buccaneers (7-1) finished the showcase with a 3-1 record, including Friday victories over Hill and Navarro.
Blinn started the day with a strong showing over Temple. Sophomore middle blocker Bruna Evangelista led the Bucs with 12 kills, and freshman outside hitter Rebecca Reeve added 10 kills and a team-high four aces.
Freshman Jaeda Allen posted 10 kills, and sophomore Kariana Castanon-Hill posted seven kills and a team-high six blocks. Sophomore setter Crystal Young dished out 37 assists and freshman Alyssa LaMont led the defense with six digs.
The Buccaneers hit .407 as a team and committed just 11 hitting errors.
But the Bucs couldn't maintain that consistency against Panola's stingy defense, committing 24 miscues against the Fillies.
Allen led the Bucs with 14 kills, while Evangelista added 12 and Rachel Sharp contributed 10.
Reeve posted eight kills and 15 digs and LaMont against paced the defense with 20 digs. Young distributed 39 assists.
"I'll give it up to Panola," Blinn coach Erin Mellinger said. "The sets we won, we were OK on defense. The games we lost, we just couldn't get into a rhythm."
The Buccaneers will look to return to their winning ways Tuesday when they host Trinity Valley at 6 p.m. at the Blinn P.E. Building.
