The Tyler Junior College volleyball team served notice to the rest of its conference by defeating last year’s national runner-up, San Jacinto, in five games Saturday in the Coach Dana Hatch Invitational. 

Freshmen Charae Caldwell and Jaqueline Santos combined for 27 kills, and sophomore transfer Anuhea Keanini had 29 assists as the unranked Apache Ladies beat No. 9 San Jacinto 25-18, 15-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-10 at Gentry Gym on the TJC campus.

After getting the Lady Ravens’ attention by winning Game 1, TJC saw San Jacinto storm back to claim the next two and force the Apache Ladies to dig out of a 2-1 hole. 

“I just wasn’t sure how they would react,” TJC coach Ronda Shirley said of her team. “They haven’t really been pushed very hard, even in preseason scrimmages. They really fought back. I challenged them to see if they would and they took that challenge and I was proud of them.” 

The Apache Ladies grabbed the momentum back after trailing 17-11 in Game 4. Sadie Hilburn, a sophomore from Whitehouse, served six consecutive points and Santos started uncorking winners from the middle of the front row. 

“She does a great job,” Shirley said of Santos, a 6-1 middle blocker from Brazil. “She’s just a very smart player and she’s got a fast swing and great approach.” 

TJC took the lead for good at 21-20 on a Santos kill, and the Apache Ladies ended the game on a 14-4 run. The Apache Ladies carried the momentum over to the final set and led 7-1 — highlighted by three kills from Caldwell, an outside hitter from Mansfield. 

San Jacinto closed within 10-8 before freshman Daniela Pena, Santos and Keanini produced consecutive winners and sophomore Haydn Beatty capped the match with a kill. 

“We’ve just got to stay grounded and you can’t just say, ‘Oh, we accomplished this’ and be satisfied,” Shirley said. “We can cheer about it for a little bit in the locker room and now we’ve got to walk out and focus on playing Vernon next. 

“Hopefully we can build from it and keep maintaining some success along the way. We’re still pretty young, if you can say young for junior college. But I’m not too worried; I think they’ll handle it pretty good.” 

As their coach predicted, the Apache Ladies took to the court later in the afternoon and swept Vernon College 25-10, 25-16, 25-13. 

TJC returns to action Wednesday at home against North Central Texas College at 4 p.m. 

 

Saturday’s Results

Coastal Bend def. Independence (Kan.), 25-22, 23-25, 25-18, 25-19; Northern Oklahoma-Enid def. Richland, 25-17, 25-20, 25-18; Tyler def. San Jacinto 25-18, 15-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-10; Laredo def. Vernon 25-21, 19-25, 25-17, 25-13; Panola def. Coastal Bend 25-16, 25-16, 25-17; Wharton def. Richland 25-12, 25-18, 25-15; San Jacinto def. Northern Oklahoma 25-10, 25-11, 25-14; Laredo def. Independence (Kan.) 25-13, 25-12, 25-20; Tyler def. Vernon 25-10, 25-16, 25-13; Panola def. Wharton 25-17, 25-18, 25-8.