HILLSBORO, Kan. - A tough non-conference tournament to open up the season has always been a staple of Head Volleyball Coach Amy Ratzlaff and this year was no exception as the KCAC preseason favorite Tabor College volleyball team took on some of the nation's best teams this past weekend at the Bellevue College tournament in Bellevue, Neb.

Just like last season, Tabor kicked off the 2010 season against Hastings College (Hastings, Neb.) as the Bluejays fell to the Broncos in four games (25-23, 17-25, 21-25, 15-25) on Friday morning.

Junior Tina Frick (Durham, Kan.) led the Bluejays offense as she recorded 9 kills in the match, while fellow juniors Gina Hullet (Abilene, Kan.) and Cortney Janzen (Henderson, Neb.) added 6 and 5 kills respectively. Junior Mandi Phillips (Halstead, Kan.) and freshman Hollister Wolf (Moundridge, Kan.) aided the Bluejays attack as they dished out 21 assists in the match.

The Bluejays were led defensively by junior Jessica Dixon (Hutchinson, Kan.) with 13 digs, while sophomore Paige Tabor (Maypearl, Texas) chipped in with eight digs. Janzen and Frick recorded 3, solo blocks and 14, assisted blocks between the two of them up front.

Tabor faced one their toughest challenge of the weekend on Friday afternoon as the Bluejays fell to the No. 20 ranked team in the nation, Doane College (Crete, Neb.), in three games (17-25, 15-25, 13-25).

Frick and Janzen led the Bluejays attack as they tallied 7 and 6 kills, each, in the match, while Hullet chipped in with 4, kills. Phillips and Wolf helped aid Tabor's offense as they tallied 21 assists in the match. The Bluejays combined for 12 blocks up front, while Dixon led the team in digs with 7.

Tabor faced its second nationally-ranked team on Saturday morning, as the Bluejays fell to No. 17 and tournament host Bellevue University (Bellevue, Neb.) in three games (21-25, 19-25, 13-25).

Tabor was led offensively by Frick with 12 kills, while Janzen added 10 kills, and Hullet chipped in with 7 assists. Phillips also aided the Bluejays offense as she tallied 18 assists, while Wolf added13 assists.

Tabor led the Bluejays defense as she racked up a team high 15 digs while Janzen led the defensive effort up front with 5 total blocks.

Saturday afternoon Tabor gave all it had left in the tank before falling to Concordia University in a five-set thriller (25-12, 23-25, 25-20, 19-25, 14-16).

Frick had a huge game offensively as she racked up a team high 19 kills in the match, while Hullet added 7 kills and Janzen chipped in with 5 kills. Phillips and Wolf also had a strong day for Tabor as they combined for 43 assists to help aid the Bluejay's offensive attack.

Defensively Tabor was led by Tabor who was all over the defensive end of the floor as she racked-up 31 digs while Hullet led the defensive effort up front as she notched 5 total blocks.

Tabor (0-4) returns home for its KCAC and home opener against Friends University Wednesday Sept. 8^th with the junior varsity match starting at 5:30 p.m. followed by the varsity match at 7 p.m.