PASADENA, Texas – After dropping the third set to Northeastern Junior College, No. 7 Blinn College was able to regroup and seal the 3-1 victory in the fourth to open the day at the San Jacinto College Military Classic Friday afternoon in Pasadena.
Blinn was able to beat Northeastern by the score of 28-26, 25-21, 21-25 and 25-16. The Buccaneers did close out the day with a 3-2 loss to No. 16 Hill College by the score of 25-23, 21-25, 17-25, 25-22 and 12-15. With the split on the day, Blinn’s record moves to 3-4 on the season.
Blinn 3 – Northeastern 1
Blinn started fast and took the first two sets over Northeastern and was able to maintain that momentum even after losing the third set to clinch the four-set victory to open the Military Classic.
Blinn narrowly won the first two sets by the score 28-26 and 25-21 before falling the third 25-21. The Buccaneers turned in their best set of the day by beating Northeastern by nine points for a 25-16 win in the fourth.
“It was great that we came out and won the first two sets after losing yesterday,” said Kalie Mader, Blinn head coach. “I like that we closed out the match in the fourth after dropping the third set.”
Paola Maria Salas Adorno led Blinn with 12 kills and 16 digs while Danusia Sipa Borgeaud added 11 kills, 18 digs and finished with four aces. Ally Lanik dished out 32 assists in the win.
Hill 3 – Blinn 2
Blinn nearly had enough momentum in the tank to pull out a five-set victory but it was Hill taking advantage of some Blinn serving mistakes to pull out the 3-2 victory.
“This was our first five-set match of the season and that is great experience for the rest of the season,” Mader said. “We just didn’t execute down the stretch.”
Alexis Kingston led Blinn with 15 kills, 10 blocks and nine assists. Adorno chipped in 12 kills and 17 digs. Kylee Kaaihue led the Buccaneers with 47 assists in the loss.
Blinn came out fast and took the first set 25-23 but then dropped the following two sets to trail 2-1. The Buccaneers were able to fight back in the fourth with a 25-22 win to force a decisive fifth set. Blinn even had a chance in the final set but service errors proved costly in the loss. Blinn finished the match with 15 service errors.
Blinn will finish off the Military Classic on Saturday, Sept. 3 with two more matches. The Buccaneers open up the final day against North Central Texas College at 1 p.m. and close out the tournament against Brookhaven College at 5 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 34 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
