Women's Volleyball 9/5/2026 9:12:00 AM

No. 4 Blinn keeps rolling with two victories at Classic

The Buccaneers swept McLennan before topping Amarillo in four sets

Women's Volleyball 9/5/2026 9:12:00 AM

No. 4 Blinn keeps rolling with two victories at Classic

The Buccaneers swept McLennan before topping Amarillo in four sets

The No. 4 Blinn College volleyball team continued its winning ways with a pair of victories over McLennan Community College and Amarillo College on the opening day of the Blinn Classic on Friday at the Kruse Center.

The Buccaneers improved to 11-1 overall, extended their winning streak to three matches, and moved to 7-1 on their home court.

Blinn opened the day with a dominant sweep of McLennan before earning a four-set victory over Amarillo.

"We had a good week where we could kind of work on ourselves a little bit after the first two weeks where we played a lot of matches," Blinn head coach Gregg Whitis said. "I'm really happy with today. I love what we're becoming. I still don't know exactly what it's going to look like in the end, and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what we are and how good we can be, but I have a group that wants to find out and wants to get pushed."

The Bucs began the day with a 25-17, 25-13, 25-14 sweep of McLennan.

The victory came one week after Blinn defeated the Highlassies in four sets to close the Kruse Kickoff Classic on Aug. 29.

"It's hard to play against a team that you just played," Whitis said. "It's hard to play a team back-to-back. I thought we were ready. We watched the film on McLennan, and we were ready for them. I was happy with the way that we performed."

Blinn's offense was particularly efficient against McLennan, hitting .375 as a team with 36 kills and just six errors in 80 total attacks.

Sophomore hitter Aliyah Harris led the Bucs with nine kills, followed by eight apiece from sophomore hitter McKynzee Beddes and freshman hitter Nevaeh English. Sophomore hitter Kassandra De La Garza added six kills.

Freshman setters Skylar Herring and Valerie Yambao guided the Blinn offense with 16 and 11 set assists, respectively.

Beddes served up four of the Bucs' 11 aces, while Herring anchored the floor defense with 10 digs.

At the net, Blinn finished with seven total blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Alana Asante and freshman middle blocker Kansas Lamar each recorded a solo block and two block assists, while Harris added a solo block and an assist.

"I thought Kansas had a good week of practice and carried that into the matches today," Whitis said. "I was happy for Kansas and happy with the team as a whole. Our setting is also getting better. We played seven sets today, and we set it pretty well, so that's good."

The Bucs returned to the court later Friday and defeated Amarillo 25-16, 25-14, 25-27, 25-13.

Harris powered Blinn's attack with a season- and team-high 17 kills. Beddes and English added seven kills apiece, while De La Garza and Asante chipped in six each.

Herring and Yambao once again paced the offense with 24 and 16 set assists, respectively.

English helped set the tone early against the Badgers, according to Whitis, while Harris battled back after a slow start to finish strong.

"Nevaeh really kind of set the tone early for us with her attacking and blocking," Whitis said. "Aliyah started out a little rough in the first set, but then she fought really hard for us at the back end of the third set and the beginning of the fourth. Suddenly, we had the best attacker on the court late, and that's what we need from her."

Blinn dropped a tightly contested third set before responding with a decisive 25-13 victory in the fourth.

"I liked our response to letting the third set go," Whitis added.

Beddes and sophomore libero/defensive specialist Natalia Silva led the Bucs at the service line with three aces apiece, while Asante and Yambao added two each.

Silva recorded a match-high 16 digs, followed by 14 from Beddes.

Blinn also controlled play at the net with 11 total blocks, including three solo blocks and 16 block assists. Asante led the way with two solo blocks and six assists.

The Badgers entered the match led by head coach Scott Sandel, a longtime friend, mentor, and former coaching colleague of Whitis. Amarillo also featured a pair of talented outside hitters, including sophomore Delany Galligan.

"Our serving and floor defense against Amarillo had to be good, and they were," Whitis said. "They have two really good outside hitters, including Galligan, who is just outstanding. We were able to affect her in reception, which bled over into our attacking. Skylar Herring and McKynzee Beddes, the first two kids that served for us, really kind of jumped Galligan as a receiver. That allowed us to play from in front and keep the pressure on them."

Whitis added that his team's willingness to embrace challenges has been one of its defining traits through the early portion of the season.

"They aren't afraid of the matches, they're not afraid of the competition, and they're not afraid of making mistakes," Whitis said. "They just keep trying to do the right stuff."

The Blinn Classic continues Saturday as the Bucs face Laramie County Community College at 11 a.m. before taking on Western Texas College at 3 p.m. at the Kruse Center.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 53 national championships since 1987.

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Players Mentioned

#5 Alana Asante: MB; 6' 0"; Sophomore; Eastern Wyoming C.C.

#6 Skylar Herring: S; 6' 0"; Freshman

#8 Valerie Yambao: S; 5' 8"; Freshman

#10 Nevaeh English: OPP; 5' 8"; Freshman

#11 Aliyah Harris: OH/OPP; 6' 1"; Sophomore; Tennessee State University

#13 Kansas Lamar: MB; 6' 2"; Freshman

#22 Natalia Silva: L/DS; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#23 Kassandra De La Garza: OPP/S; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#50 McKynzee Beddes: OH; 5' 11"; Sophomore; University of California, Riverside

Players Mentioned

#5 Alana Asante
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; Eastern Wyoming C.C.
: MB

#6 Skylar Herring
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: S

#8 Valerie Yambao
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: S

#10 Nevaeh English
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: OPP

#11 Aliyah Harris
: 6' 1"; Sophomore; Tennessee State University
: OH/OPP

#13 Kansas Lamar
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: MB

#22 Natalia Silva
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: L/DS

#23 Kassandra De La Garza
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: OPP/S

#50 McKynzee Beddes
: 5' 11"; Sophomore; University of California, Riverside
: OH