The KCKCC volleyball team rebounded from a pair of gut-wrenching losses to gain a split in the Bobcat Invitational volleyball tournament in New Port Richey, Fla., over the weekend.

Sweeping Andrew College 3-0 and tournament host Pasco-Hernandez State 3-1 Saturday boosted the Blue Devils' record back over .500 at 7-5 heading into a home triangular Saturday. The Blue Devils will host Park University JV at 4 p.m. and St. Mary JV at 8 p.m.

KCKCC actually scored six more points than Morton College in Friday's tournament opener but fell 3-1 as Morton won all three sets by two points (25-23, 26-24, 25-23) while the Blue Devils won the second set 25-13. KCKCC scored only 11 fewer points against No. 10 ranked and defending national champion Richard Bland in a very competitive 3-0 loss (25-21, 25-20, 25-23) in the second match.

Bouncing back with vengeance on Saturday, the Blue Devils routed Andrew College 25-6, 25-11, 25-14, and then overcame a 25-20 opening set loss to beat Pasco-Hernandez 25-20, 26-24, 25-17.

"So happy with our play," said KCKCC Coach Mary Bruno-Ballou. "We had a brand-new lineup and people in different places, and they handled it with such grace. We played hard and are finally putting it together as a group."

The Blue Devils were without sophomore assist leader Taryn Dial for the middle sets because of injury. Switching to a 6-2 alignment, the Blue Devils got big performances from sophomores Lydia Huston and Emma Ayers, Huston recording 29 assists and Ayers 22 in a 1-1 split.

"We got Dial (45 assists) back for the Pasco game, which was a real big win for us," Bruno-Ballou said. "A standout weekend for freshman Mercedez Brown and sophomore Jayda Watson. Both hit exceptionally well, and sophomore Amauri Browning played great in her Libero jersey debut."