The Blinn College volleyball team picked up its fourth win of the season Friday, beating Butler Community College 3-1 in the Clarendon College Bulldog Bash.
Blinn was scheduled to play Dallas College-Cedar Valley in its first game at the tournament in Clarendon, Texas, but that match was canceled.
The Buccaneers, now 4-1 on the season, downed Butler 25-19 in the opening set but lost the second 19-25. Blinn took the third set 25-19 and edged Butler 26-24 to win the match.
Jayde Shelton and Charde Van Zandt each had 15 kills in the match to lead Blinn, with Reagan Casey and Guilia Hortelan getting 10 each.
Lixai Perez had 14 digs to lead Blinn, with Hortelan adding 12.
“I thought our offense was good,” coach Terry Gamble said. “I think our defense needs to get better if we’re going to compete on a high level, but I like our team. They’re a great group of girls. We’ve just got to get better with our court awareness.”
This is Blinn’s second tournament of the season. The Buccaneers went 3-1 at the Midland College Kickoff Classic last week, beating New Mexico Junior College (3-0), Western Texas College (3-1), and Midland College (3-0) They lost 3-1 to North Central Texas College.
Blinn, which went 17-3 last season and finished fifth nationally, will wrap up the tournament with a 10 a.m. game Saturday against host Clarendon College. The Buccaneers will travel to Navarro College on Tuesday for their conference opener. That game is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
