Apaches News
Fri, Oct 20, 2006 - [Volleyball]
By JOE BUIE, Staff Writer, Tyler Morning Telegraph
 
If anything, the Tyler Junior College women's volleyball team thinks it proved that No. 5 Blinn is not invincible.
 
The Apache Ladies did it Thursday night by dominating portions of Game 1 in a 30-22 victory, only to lose the next three before 300 boisterous fans at Wagstaff Gymnasium.

 
Blinn controlled the second game, 30-20, pulled out a tight Game 3, 30-27, and then dominated the fourth, 30-16.

 
The loss sent TJC to 20-16 overall and 1-4 in conference action. Blinn won its 11th match in a row and moved to 24-2 and 5-0.

 
The Apache Ladies looked more like the No. 5 team in the opener, racing to a lead of 13-2 and never wavering too far off course. The Lady Bucs never pulled closer than 23-20.

 
"We jumped on them quick and they started having some errors, because they have an attitude that they can pretty much walk in anywhere and win," said TJC head coach Dana Hatch. "This is the first time since '02 that we've even taken a game off them.

 
"(The first game) was ours, definitely. Two was theirs, definitely. Three could have been either way, and four - the air went out of us when we didn't win three."

 
Emmanuelle Lastrucci, a freshman from France, led TJC with six kills in nine attempts in the first game.

 
Sophomore Tiny McHenry (three blocks) and freshman Naomi Mays (two blocks) contributed three kills apiece, and sophomore Veronica Ogbeide had four blocks.

 
After a rough second game, the Apache Ladies fell behind 23-14 in the third before going on a 10-1 run and tying the match at 24-24. TJC had four kills and one block during the run.

 
The game had two more ties before Blinn went up 28-26 on a kill followed by a hitting error. A Blinn service error made it 28-27, but then Ogbeide had an error on a kill attempt.

 
The Lady Bucs won the next point, and the game, when TJC's service return landed wide of the court.

 
Blinn dominated the fourth game after snapping a 6-6 tie.

 
Overall, Lastrucci and McHenry had a team-high 10 kills while sophomore setter Haley Hatch totaled 27 assists.

 
Defensively, sophomore libero Frances Davies had 12 digs and one block in the second game. In Game 3, McHenry was 4-of-9 on kills and also contributed three blocks. Pamela Arterberry was 3-of-5 on kills and Davis dug six balls.

 
Smoke Signals: The Apache Invitational Tennis Tournament is Friday and Saturday at TJC. The men's and women's event will be held on campus at two locations - the recently completed new tennis center and the old complex.