No. 12 Blinn College volleyball made a big one by way of a Region XIV road sweep of eighth-ranked Trinity Valley Community College on Tuesday in Athens, Texas.
The Buccaneers earned a 27-25, 25-15, 25-15 victory over the Cardinals — their 14th consecutive win — to improve to 15-1 overall this season. Blinn is also 3-0 in region play.
“That’s a huge win,” Buccaneers head coach Terry Gamble said. “In the first set, we just kept plugging away and found a way to win it. Then we proceeded to play two of the best sets we’ve probably played as a team … the best two complete sets we’ve played all year long. I’m really proud of the team.”
Trinity Valley entered the season ranked third in NJCAA Division I following a 2022 campaign in which it won Region XIV with a perfect 16-0 mark while reaching the NJCAA Division I Volleyball Championship tournament. Blinn also reached the national tournament last season and appeared undeterred by Tuesday night’s tough test.
(Pictured: Blinn College sophomore Jaedyn Newman)
“Trinity Valley is a really good team, so to go into their gym with their big crowd and sweep them shows how good we really can be,” Gamble added. “I told the girls that this win raises the bar for us. We got a flash of how good this team can be.”
Offensively, the Buccaneers used a team-centered attack to clip the Cardinals.
Sophomore outside hitter Jaedyn Newman and freshman right-side hitter Kellen Dorotik each had a team-high nine kills, while sophomore outside hitter Lexi Higgins chipped in seven, sophomore middle blocker Brooke Pattschull added six, and sophomore middle blocker Taylor Glendening had five. Freshman setter Chloe Howard made a big impact upon entering the match during the middle set and finished with a team-leading 21 set assists. Freshman setter Elizabeth Tyner posted 11.
(Pictured: Blinn College freshman Cierra Pesak)
At the service line, freshman libero Kirby Kliafas recorded one ace.
On defense, 10 Blinn players recorded at least one dig, led by freshman libero Cierra Pesak’s 26. Howard finished with 11 and Newman tacked on eight.
At the net, Pattschull shined with a pair of solo blocks and three block assists. Glendening and Higgins had four and three block assists, respectively.
Blinn gets right back to work with a region home tilt against Lee College at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 6, at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
