WC sweeps Blinn in first nationals match

In the first national tournament match in program history, the Weatherford College volleyball team swept Blinn College 25-16, 25-19, 25-21 on Wednesday in Hutchison, Kansas. 

The win was the Coyotes' 11th in a row, giving WC a 33-3 overall record heading into the second round of the tournament. 

Despite being a sweep, Wednesday's match was well-contested, with nine lead changes and 28 ties. 

"It was very back and forth," said Kailee May, WC head coach. "They had two hitters that we tried to stop that were really good, and we didn't let them rattle us. They got their kills, and we just moved on, kept siding out and serving tough." 

WC freshman Abby Hellman had her best performance of the season, leading the way with 10 kills. Peighton Serda and Brooke McHale had eight kills each, along with seven from Selanny Puente and six from Dru Witherspoon. 

"It was a well-rounded offensive match," May said. "Everyone contributed, which makes it really hard to defend us when everyone is scoring points." 

Weatherford posted an impressive .311 hitting percentage over the three sets. 

Abby Benitez turned in 13 digs, and McHale added 11. Lorena Gomez had 20 assists, and Abby Folsom had 12. 

WC is the No. 6 seed in the 16-team tournament. Next, the Coyotes face the No. 3 seed, the Miami Dade College Sharks (21-5). 

"They are big and physical," May said. "They will definitely be the biggest, hardest-hitting team we've faced all season, so it will be a good test. This is what we came for—to play the best, to see where we stand." 

The Weatherford/Miami-Dade match is Thursday at 4 p.m. CST. The match will be streamed on the NJCAA Network, and a post-match podcast will be available on "The Coyote" radio station's smartphone app.