MIDLAND, Texas — The No. 19 Blinn College volleyball team (2-0) opened its regular season with two wins by sweeping Western Texas College, 3-0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-22) and Midland College (25-21, 25-21, 25-15) in the Midland Tournament on Friday.

"Our defense and serve receive was really good today in both matches," said Terry Gamble, Blinn head coach. "Taylor Henderson played great in the first match and we played really well as a team in the second match."

Blinn 3 – Western Texas 0

The Buccaneers started their season with a sweep over Western Texas, 3-0, to open the Midland Tournament.

Freshman Giulia Hortelan led the offense with 15 kills, freshman Tamia Hall followed with nine kills, and sophomore Henderson led the Buccaneers with a .571 hitting percentage for eight kills.

Freshman Jenni Liu recorded 34 assists, while three Buccaneers totaled double-digit digs to lead on defense. Kya Yanez recorded 13 digs, Chloe Mullins tallied 11 digs, and Hortelan came up with 10.

The Buccaneers won the first set by a 12-point margin (25-13) to pull ahead in the match. Western Texas kept up with the Buccaneers in the second set, but Blinn still walked away with a 25-22 victory. The Buccaneers claimed the sweep after recording another 25-22 win.

Blinn 3 – Midland 0

Blinn finished the day with an undefeated record in the tournament after sweeping Midland, 3-0.

"This was a match where we did everything right, especially in the third set," Gamble said.

Hortelan led the offense with 14 kills, while Liu recorded 34 assists. Yanez was strong on defense with 16 digs, while Kaitlyn Pollard followed with 12.

The Buccaneers won by the score of 25-21 in the first two sets before picking up momentum in the third set for a 25-15 victory to claim the sweep.

The Buccaneers will compete against Cedar Valley College on Saturday, August 24, at 9 a.m. to finish the Midland Tournament.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 41 NJCAA national championships since 1987.