BRENHAM, Texas — The No. 17 Blinn College volleyball team (15-1) defeated Temple College, 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23), on Tuesday night in the Kruse Center.

"Tonight's win is a big credit to the crowd," said Terry Gamble, Blinn head coach. "They were loud and kept us up when we were struggling in the match. The positive is we got the win."

On offense, Essence Clerkley led the match with 17 kills, while Paige Havel recorded 15 and Giulia Hortelan tallied 14. Jenni Liu recorded 48 assists to help Blinn seal the win.

On defense, Hortelan led Blinn with 21 digs, while Liu followed with 16.

Blinn led the match 2-0 after defeating Temple 25-21 in the first set and 25-23 in the second set. Temple rallied back in the third set to avoid the sweep with a 25-23 victory. The Buccaneers and Temple played a close fourth set, but Blinn was able to come up with the 25-23 win to finish the match.

Next, Blinn will travel to Clarendon to compete in the Clarendon Classic on Friday, Sept. 13. The Buccaneers will face Trinidad State Junior College at 4 p.m. to open the tournament.

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