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Buccaneers knock off another ranked foe
By RICHARD BRAY / Sports Editor
On the same day the Blinn Buccaneers were named the sixth-ranked team in the nation, they reiterated their dominance of Texas junior college volleyball with a sweep of Lee College, 30-22, 30-17, 30-25.
The Buccaneers used a balanced offensive attack combined with a strong defense led by sophomore Sydney Milburn to defeat Lee College (2-2), which was ranked 13th in the National Junior College Athletic Association preseason poll.
Sophomore outside hitter Sabrina Daniel led the Lady Bucs with 10 kills while Hayley Ball, Lina Vanegas and Stefanie Robbins each had eight.
“Today was about getting Hayley Ball back on track,” Blinn (5-0) coach David Rehr said. “She’s been worrying about her swing and things that she had changed, and we just told her to go back and hit the ball. Just simplify things and hit it hard, and she does a great job of that. If there’s anything Hayley Ball does really well, it’s hit the ball really hard.”
Sophomore setter Caroline Witte finished with 19 assists, while Bellville freshman Kayla Schmidt had 13.
“Our passes are there,” Witte said. “We work hard to get them there in practice, and then they just come easy in games. I can set it and Lina makes them look good.”
Blinn hit .375 for the match, including a .600 kill percentage in the second game. The Buccaneers rotated plenty of faces into the match during the second and third games, but were able to hold Lee at bay.
“The difference was how many kills we had vs. errors we had, especially for our top four (kill leaders),” Rehr said. “That’s the difference.
“Lee College is historically a good team and they played hard. We just matched them person for person, and when we do that, nine times out of 10 we’re going to be better than somebody.”
Blinn has yet to lose a game through five matches this season - a stretch of 15 straight games. Including Blinn’s two victories over Midland College, which is ranked 23rd in the preseason poll, the Bucs have won nine of those games against ranked opponents.
“It’s nice having the respect again,” Rehr said. “Last year we were not in the preseason poll - I don’t know how that happened - but at least we’re where we should be. It’s nice to be in the poll.”
Blinn has won the Region 14 crown each of the past four seasons, and is coming off a fifth-place finish at the NJCAA national tournament, the best finish in program history.
Blinn will host the Labor Day Classic Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the Bucs will face Laredo at 1 p.m. and Redlands (Okla.) at 7 p.m. The Buccaneers will play Temple at 1 p.m. and San Jacinto at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
The Buccaneers used a balanced offensive attack combined with a strong defense led by sophomore Sydney Milburn to defeat Lee College (2-2), which was ranked 13th in the National Junior College Athletic Association preseason poll.
Sophomore outside hitter Sabrina Daniel led the Lady Bucs with 10 kills while Hayley Ball, Lina Vanegas and Stefanie Robbins each had eight.
“Today was about getting Hayley Ball back on track,” Blinn (5-0) coach David Rehr said. “She’s been worrying about her swing and things that she had changed, and we just told her to go back and hit the ball. Just simplify things and hit it hard, and she does a great job of that. If there’s anything Hayley Ball does really well, it’s hit the ball really hard.”
Sophomore setter Caroline Witte finished with 19 assists, while Bellville freshman Kayla Schmidt had 13.
“Our passes are there,” Witte said. “We work hard to get them there in practice, and then they just come easy in games. I can set it and Lina makes them look good.”
Blinn hit .375 for the match, including a .600 kill percentage in the second game. The Buccaneers rotated plenty of faces into the match during the second and third games, but were able to hold Lee at bay.
“The difference was how many kills we had vs. errors we had, especially for our top four (kill leaders),” Rehr said. “That’s the difference.
“Lee College is historically a good team and they played hard. We just matched them person for person, and when we do that, nine times out of 10 we’re going to be better than somebody.”
Blinn has yet to lose a game through five matches this season - a stretch of 15 straight games. Including Blinn’s two victories over Midland College, which is ranked 23rd in the preseason poll, the Bucs have won nine of those games against ranked opponents.
“It’s nice having the respect again,” Rehr said. “Last year we were not in the preseason poll - I don’t know how that happened - but at least we’re where we should be. It’s nice to be in the poll.”
Blinn has won the Region 14 crown each of the past four seasons, and is coming off a fifth-place finish at the NJCAA national tournament, the best finish in program history.
Blinn will host the Labor Day Classic Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the Bucs will face Laredo at 1 p.m. and Redlands (Okla.) at 7 p.m. The Buccaneers will play Temple at 1 p.m. and San Jacinto at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
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