The fourth-ranked Blinn College volleyball team completed a perfect weekend at the Blinn Classic with a pair of sweeps Saturday at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
The Buccaneers powered past Laramie County Community College 25-16, 25-9, 25-18 before closing the tournament with a 25-17, 25-16, 25-21 victory over Western Texas College.
Blinn finished the Classic with a 4-0 record, improved to 13-1 overall, and extended its winning streak to five matches. The Bucs have also recorded eight sweeps so far this season.
"We had some good performances today," Blinn head coach Gregg Whitis said. "I thought we cleaned up some of our attacking errors, and I was happy with how we scored. We averaged 14 kills a set, which is good. We served it really, really well today, too."
Sophomore hitter Aliyah Harris led the Bucs offensively in both matches, totaling 27 kills across six sets.
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Against Laramie County, Harris put down a team-high 12 kills while freshman hitter Nevaeh English added seven. Blinn finished with 35 kills and a .262 hitting percentage.
Freshman setter Skylar Herring paced the offense with 18 set assists, while the Bucs were strong at the service line with 10 aces. Freshman libero/defensive specialist Sophia Green led the way with three aces.
Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Natalia Silva collected a team-high 12 digs, while sophomore hitter McKynzee Beddes added 10.
Blinn also controlled the net defensively, finishing with 10 total blocks. Beddes accounted for three solo blocks and a block assist, while freshman middle blocker London King contributed six block assists.
The Bucs carried their momentum into the day's second match against Western Texas.
Harris again led the way with 15 kills, while Beddes added nine and sophomore middle blocker Alana Asante chipped in seven. Blinn finished with 43 kills and hit .274 as a team.
Herring handed out 25 assists, and Blinn's balanced serving attack produced seven aces from seven different players.
Beddes led the Bucs with 11 digs, while Silva added nine. King had a solo block and four block assists as Blinn finished with six total blocks.
The Bucs had to battle through some adversity in the final set, rallying after falling behind 5-0 to complete their second sweep of the day.
"We have a young team, and there are moments on the floor where that shows, but we fix that by falling back on our fundamentals and relying on what coach Whitis has taught us," Beddes said. "We have confidence that we can be gritty and fight back when we're in tough spots."
Harris said Blinn's ability to battle through difficult stretches has been a key part of the team's early-season success.
"What pushes us through is our grit," Harris added. "We battle and keep the mindset of, 'We are not losing this set.'"
Whitis was also pleased with the contributions Blinn received throughout its lineup Saturday, including performances from Beddes, freshman libero/defensive specialist Kaylen Ottmers, freshman middle blocker Kansas Lamar, and freshman defensive specialist Caylie Neisner.
"I was happy with the way Beddes played today," Whitis said. "She dug some balls, and her offense finally kind of reappeared. Kaylen has some really good platform skills, she's really strong on the ball, and she's a good server. We've been kind of nursing her back to health, and she's slowly but surely doing a good job."
With the home tournament behind them, the Bucs will now turn their attention to the start of Region 14 play.
"The most important thing for us is the next match," Beddes said. "Tyler is up next on Tuesday, and that's what we're focused on. I think that mentality keeps all of us in the moment and allows us to focus on the task at hand."
Blinn opens Region 14 play against Tyler Junior College at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, at the Kruse Center.
