WHARTON, Texas – Going into its match, No. 7 Blinn College volleyball didn't have a better record than Wharton County Junior College but the Buccaneers played with enough intensity to come out with a 3-1 victory Tuesday evening in Wharton.
With the win, the Buccaneers moved back to a .500 record at 5-5 and most importantly move to 1-0 in Region XIV play after winning by the score 26-24, 25-19, 20-25 and 27-25. Wharton was 8-1 prior to facing Blinn and dropped to 8-2 with the loss.
"The girls knew that they needed to win this match if they wanted to be playing volleyball in November," said Kalie Mader, Blinn head coach. "We played with more intensity and wanted to win every ball and it was just a fun match to watch."
Paola Maria Salas Adorno led Blinn with 16 kills and 18 digs and added two aces. Alexis Kingston added nine kills and 15 digs. Danusia Sipa Borgeaud earned 12 digs, Shayla Eugene ended with 10 digs and Ally Lanik dished out 35 assists.
Wharton came into the match riding an eight-game winning streak but it was Blinn coming out fast and winning a closely contest first set 26-24. The Buccaneers created a little distance in the second set with a 25-19 win only to drop the third set to Wharton 20-25 to force a fourth set.
Wharton did not go down easily but it was Blinn coming out on top in the fourth set 27-25 to seal the conference opening victory.
"We didn't even play our best match but we played hard and grinded out a lot of points," Mader said.
Blinn will have its first matches in Brenham this weekend with the Premier Tournament held at Brenham High School. The Buccaneers will open the tournament on Thursday, Sept. 8 against Monroe College at 7 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 34 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
About Blinn College
With an enrollment of 19,370 students, Blinn ranks among the nation's leaders in transferring students to leading four-year universities and has received national recognition for affordable educational excellence. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu.
