During the final set of Wednesday’s Region XIV clash between Blinn College and Lee College, Kellen Dorotik stood near the net, turned her head toward a teammate and stuck her tongue out through a toothy grin.
It was that kind of the night for the 12th-ranked Buccaneer volleyball team.
Blinn shrugged off a slow start while getting its entire roster involved to rebound from an 0-1 hole and collect three consecutive sets for a Region XIV home win over Lee at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
The 23-25, 25-17, 25-5, 25-10 victory was the Buccaneers’ 15th in a row as the blue, black, and white improved to 16-1 overall and 4-0 in region contests.
(Pictured: Blinn College freshman Kellen Dorotik, 9, makes a funny face at her sophomore teammate Jaedyn Newman during a match Sept. 6, 2023)
“We’re having fun. Our record is good and we’re feeling it right now,” said sophomore outside hitter Jaedyn Newman, who was on the receiving end of Dorotik’s playful gesture. “We’re all about having fun because this is our game, this is our court, and we’ve got to own it.”
The night didn’t start off as fun for Blinn, which was edged in the opening set by the Navigators.
Bucs head coach Terry Gamble has quickly recognized when parts of his starting rotation have struggled this season, and Wednesday’s tilt was another example of the hall of fame coach’s willingness to utilize his entire roster to get the desired result.
“We’re playing a lot of kids in hopes that they get hot,” Gamble explained. “Luckily our players coming off the bench have really performed for us.”
Gamble’s on-court changes effectively changed the trajectory of the match. Twelve total Buccaneers took the court during the contest.
Sophomore middle blocker Taylor Glendening came off the bench for Blinn in set two and delivered a hard spike and kill off an assist from freshman setter Elizabeth Tyner. Glendening’s kill helped ignite a 12-7 run that turned a 4-3 contest into a 16-10 Bucs cushion. Tyner later passed the ball to Dorotik, a freshman right-side hitter, who sent a spike through a Lee block for the set win.
The Blinn defense then locked in across the final two sets to push the hosts to victory.
“The back row really came together in the final three sets because we talked to each other more, we held each other accountable, and we told each other not to overthink things,” freshman libero Kirby Kliafas said. “Coach Gamble always tells us not to get frantic. Once we stopped and focused on the plays and got a good read on what was coming, we were able to do our jobs.”
Seven of the 12 Bucs who played Wednesday recorded at least one kill, while 11 of them had at least one dig on defense.
(Pictured: Blinn College sophomore Taylor Glendening, 3, prepares to spike the ball against Lee College on Sept. 6, 2023)
Leading the way offensively was Dorotik, who finished with 14 kills. Dorotik also had eight digs, one solo block and four block assists. Dorotik is currently second in NJCAA Division I with 185 kills, closely trailing Apolline Lepuissant (190) of Garden City Community College (Garden City, Kan.).
Glendening added 11 kills, two service aces and five block assists. Sophomore reserve outside hitter Lexi Higgins finished with seven kills and three digs, and sophomore middle blocker Brooke Pattschull had six kills, two solo blocks, and two assisted blocks.
Tyner dished out 28 set assists and added nine digs, while freshman setter Chloe Howard had 10 assists. Freshman libero Cierra Pesak had a team-best 16 digs.
Up next, Blinn travels to Gainesville, Texas, to participate in the two-day North Central Texas Tournament. The Bucs battle Cisco College at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 8, followed by a bout against McCook Community College at 3 p.m. Blinn will then face North Central Texas College, the host of the tournament, at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, before finishing the competition with a 11 a.m. matchup against Hill College.
