Irving, Tx- After a long preseason, the Coastal Bend College volleyball team opened the regular season with a matchup versus the North Lake College Blazers, on Thursday, August 22nd.

CBC started the match off hot, winning the first two sets; 25-22 and 25-16 respectively.  North Lake would respond, beating Coastal Bend in the third set, 15-25.  The fourth set would be a tightly contested battle, but the Cougars would edge out the Blazers, 25-23 to win the match.

Sophomore Setter,  Samantha Santos recorded 25 assists and 12 kills for match highs, while leading the offense. CBC Libero, Alyssa Hutcheson had a match high, 31 digs.

Freshman, Leandra Miranda had a strong performance as a reserve with 22 assists. Cameron Del Angel and Devin Branch both pencilied in eight kills, while Amber Willis and Ava Johnson stated seven kills to help the Cougar offense. 

Vernon, Tx- Following the season opening victory over North Lake College, the Cougars traveled northeast, to compete in the Vernon College Classic on Friday, August 23rd. 

The first match of the classic, Coastal Bend would face Dodge City Community College.  CBC took the first set, 25-22. The next two sets, the Conquistadors would fall to the Cougars, 25-17 and 25-21.  Coastal Bend wound up sweeping Dodge City, 3-0 to win the match.  Santos led the team with eight kills, recorded 15 assists and nothched in nine digs. Hutcheson recorded 22 digs for the match. Cierra Hernandez was followed up with 10 digs.   Miranda tied Santos with 15 assists during the sweep.

In the next match of the Vernon Classic, the Cougars ended up facing the Richland College Thunderducks.  Coastal Bend looked to improve, following their recent victories over North Lake and Dodge City.  The Cougars beat Richland quickly, sweeping them in three sets; 25-19, 25-17 and 25-21.

Santos again led the attack with 11 kills, 18 assists and eight digs. Hernandez recorded a match high with 13 digs. Miranda produced 18 assists to go with her six digs. Johnson recorded nine digs and six kills during the match.

On Saturday, CBC would go up against Pratt Community College for the third match of the classic.  In a match that could have gone either way, it went in favor of PCC, as they slimly swept CBC; 24-26, 20-25 and 25-27.  The match did not go the way the Cougars had planned, but they played tough and fought to the bitter end.

Santos again led the offense for CBC with nine kills, 11 assists and produced 13 digs. Johnson had a match high, 12 kills to go with her seven digs. Miranda boosted the team with 20 assists as a reserve. Meadow Rodriguez contributed on the defensive end with 10 digs, while Hernandez recorded nine digs of her own.

Following the loss to Pratt Community College, the Cougars looked to bounce back as they faced the home team, Vernon College for the fourth and final match of the classic.

In the first set, Vernon squeeked out a 25-27 victory.  After regrouping, the Cougars battled the Chapparals, narrowing out the second and third set; 25-22 and 25-23.  In the fourth set, CBC put the match away by running away with a 25-17 victory, beating the Chaps in three consecutive sets.

For a change, Freshman, Ava Johnson led the charge for the Coastal Bend offense. Johnson had 18 kills and 14 digs during the victory. Santos was not far behind as she recorded 13 kills, 22 assists and eight digs. Cierra Hernandez held a match high of 29 digs for CBC. Hutcheson nothced in 10 digs during her time on the court. Miranda recorded 12 assists to help the Cougars. 

The Cougars next game will be on Thursday, August 29th as they not only begin the CBC Classic, but play North Lake College at 6:00 PM for their Home Opener at the Peter S. Marecek Physical Fitness Center. CBC will also host Frank Philips College and Cisco College on Friday and Saturday as part of the Coastal Bend College Classic.