The 12th-ranked Blinn College volleyball team continued its impressive run with two wins on the final day of the North Central Texas College Invitational on Saturday in Gainesville, Texas.
The Buccaneers outlasted North Central Texas in four sets, 25-22, 25-27, 25-22, 25-6, before sweeping Hill College 25-13, 25-22, 25-16, picking up their 18th and 19th consecutive victories in the process.
Blinn finished the tournament 4-0 and is now 20-1 overall.
“I thought the girls played really hard the entire weekend,” Buccaneer head coach Terry Gamble said. “If we continue to get better both mentally and learning the game, we have a chance to be pretty good.”
In Saturday’s opener, the Bucs were the beneficiaries of a pair of big offensive outings. Freshman right-side hitter Kellen Dorotik continued her season-long tear with a team-best 19 kills, while sophomore middle blocker Brooke Pattschull followed with 17.
(Pictured: Blinn College freshman Kellen Dorotik)
Dorotik had 29 total kills on the day and now leads NJCAA Division I with 252. She passed Hillsborough’s Matilda Dahlstroem on Saturday.
Freshman setter Chloe Howard posted a robust 47 set assists against North Central Texas. At the service line, sophomore middle blocker Taylor Glendening excelled with seven aces.
On defense, a multi-faceted effort worked in Blinn’s favor. Freshman libero Cierra Pesak had a team-leading 28 digs, while freshman liberos Kirby Kliafas and Riley Cox along with Howard finished with 17, 13, and 10 digs, respectively. At the net, Pattschull had a pair of solo blocks to go with four assists, and Dorotik and Glendening each had one solo block. Glendening had four assists and Dorotik had three.
In its final match of the tournament, Blinn cruised behind a three-headed offensive attack.
(Pictured: Blinn College freshman Chloe Howard)
Glendening and sophomore outside hitter Jaedyn Newman had 11 kills apiece and Dorotik added 10. Howard had another big game distributing the ball with 41 assists. Kliafas served up three assists.
Pesak was again stellar defensively with a team-best 25 digs. Kliafas had 14 and sophomore libero/hitter Kaylen Kruse had 10.
Up next, Blinn travels to Victoria College for a Region XIV matchup at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 12, in Victoria, Texas.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 44 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
