The regular season has come to a close for the No. 11 Blinn College volleyball team following a four-set Region XIV victory over Panola College on Saturday in Carthage, Texas.
The Buccaneers prevailed 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 25-18.
Blinn will enter the postseason 34-4 overall and will have the second seed in the upcoming Region XIV after posting a 13-3 conference mark.
The Bucs will also begin the tournament after a strong showing against Panola.
“I’m really proud of the girls,” Blinn head coach Terry Gamble said. “I thought it was one of our best matches of the season.”
Gamble praised freshman liberos Emma Whitsel, Kirby Kliafas, and Cierra Pesak for their efforts in serve receive, and said second-year freshman hitter Lexi Higgins played her best match of the season.
Freshman right-side hitter Kellen Dorotik paced the Blinn attack with 17 kills, followed by 12 for sophomore outside hitter Jaedyn Newman, and 11 apiece for Higgins and sophomore hitter/blocker Don’Yah Cosie.
Freshman setter Elizabeth Tyner played a crucial role in the Bucs’ offensive effort with 47 set assists.
At the service line, sophomore blocker Taylor Glendening had a team-best two aces.
On defense, Pesak had a team-high 19 digs, while Whitsel finished with 14. Dorotik and Kliafas each had nine and Tyner added eight.
At the net, Cosie was superb with three solo blocks and four block assets. Higgins had two solo blocks, Glendening chipped in one solo and two assists, and Tyner recorded four assists.
Up next, the three-day Region XIV Tournament begins on Friday, Nov. 3, on the campus of Lee College in Baytown, Texas. Fifth-ranked Navarro College will be seeded first after winning the regular-season conference title, while the Bucs finished second via a tiebreaker with Trinity Valley Community College, who will be seeded third in the tournament bracket.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 44 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
