A pair of Friday victories have the Buccaneers on the cusp of the Region XIV championship and a guaranteed berth in the NJCAA Division Volleyball Championship.
Blinn (37-1) swept Victoria College, 25-4, 25-17, 25-12 in the opening round of the Region XIV Tournament before outlasting Tyler Junior College in a five-set semifinal thriller, 25-15, 25-17, 23-25, 13-25, 15-12 at Lee College in Baytown, Texas.
“We played hard both matches, but at times we lost focus and it was sloppy,” Buccaneers head coach Terry Gamble said before shifting his focus to the Tyler match. “Tyler is a really good team and well-coached. I’m really happy with the win.”
Blinn, which qualified for the national tournament as the region runner-up last season, will face Panola in the championship match at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6, also at Lee College. The winner of the title tilt gets an automatic national tournament bid, while the loser will move to the consolation championship, which will be played at 5 p.m. on Sunday at Lee College. The consolationbracketwinner will also qualify for the national tournament.
Should the Buccaneers punch theirnationalsticket, it will be their second straight appearance after qualifying for the first time since 2015 last season.
On Friday, Blinn was led offensively by sophomores Reagan Casey and Jayde Shelton, who totaled 31 and 29 kills, respectively across the two matches. Sophomores Charde Van Zandt and Ashley Taylor added 16 and 15 kills, respectively.
From the setter position, sophomore Savannah Sebek posted 75 total set assists. The Buccaneers recorded six total aces from the service line.
On defense, sophomore libero Lixai Perez had 24 total digs; sophomore Guila Hortelan had 19; and sophomore Kyndal Coufal tallied 13.
At the net, Taylor was responsible for two solo blocks to go along with six block assists. Shelton had four assisted blocks.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
