The way
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sees it, goals never change; only the players striving toward them.
Four consecutive seasons capped by trips to the NJCAA Division I National Championship tournament have set a standard of success for the 15th-ranked Blinn College volleyball team, and Gamble is ready to see how his revamped Buccaneers rise to the occasion this fall.
“Every team that has come before this group has set our standard; that is a program-generated aspect of what we are doing here,” said Gamble, who is entering his seventh season as Blinn’s head coach. “Being at the national tournament the past four years obviously reinforces our standard, but we expect to compete hard and be one of the top teams in Region XIV and in the country every year with the players we’ve chosen to represent our program.”
Blinn has compiled winning campaigns in all six seasons under Gamble, including three consecutive campaigns of 30-plus victories. Gamble is an impressive 192-43 at Blinn.
Last season, a talented core of veterans and upstart freshmen helped the Bucs to a 34-7 mark and a berth in the national tournament and Blinn hopes to up the ante this year with a retooled squad.
(Pictured: Blinn’s Kellen Dorotik spikes the ball through a pair of defenders during a game against Panola College on Sept. 21, 2023)
At the top, sophomore hitter Kellen Dorotik is back after earning NJCAA Division I second-team All-America honors as a freshman. The talented right-side hitter paced Blinn with a robust 514 kills (tied for fifth nationally) to go with 160 digs.
Joining Dorotik in her return to Brenham are sophomores Cierra Pesak (libero) and Kirby Kliafas (outside hitter/libero). Pesak paced Blinn with 598 digs in 2023 (13th nationally), while Kliafas had 268.
“It’s on the three of us to lead now,” Pesak said. “We’ve had team meetings and we’ve had moments in practice where we’ve laid everything out for the freshmen to let them know how we need to compete, how we need to practice, and how we need to play every day to be successful at this level. We learned from our sophomores last season and now it falls on us to help bring the new players up to that level.”
Of Blinn’s 16 players, 13 are freshmen. However, Gamble believes the learning curve for this year’s group could be far less sharp. Three players – MaKenna Loo (outside hitter), Sophie Llagan (libero), and Leah Hoss (setter) – have played under Gamble at the club level and will bring insight into their coach’s playstyle and strategies to the hardwood. Three others – Jana Cetkovic (a middle blocker from Podgorica, Montenegro), Karolina Karabasz (a middle blocker from Zlotów, Poland), and Greta Rakow (an outside hitter from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) – provide a wealth of experience from highly competitive international regions of the world.
(Pictured: Blinn’s Kirby Kliafas lunges for the ball during a game against Panola College on Sept. 21, 2023)
“We get something different from everybody here, and I think that is what will make us great,” Kliafas said. “We all know how to play the game at a high level, but we have to continue to bring it all together and weave what we do best and our individual skills and abilities into a team-first mindset. I think we have the right girls and the right coach to accomplish that.”
Blinn’s season opens on the road with the Western Texas Tournament, where they will face Dallas College-Mountain View at 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 23, and continue with matchups against Dallas College-Richland, Temple College, and Clarendon College.
A monumental test then awaits the Bucs as they host arguably the toughest tournament during Gamble’s time at Blinn. Beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29, the Bucs will kick off a three-day, five-game stretch at the Kruse Center that will feature games against North Central Texas College, No. 10 New Mexico Junior College, No. 8 Odessa College, No. 14 Daytona State College, and 2023 national runner-up and second-ranked Miami Dade College.
“There isn’t a bad team in that tournament,” Gamble said. “I expect some great volleyball to be played that weekend, and that tournament should be every bit as good as the national tournament in terms of skills. It will be a great test for our team.”
(Pictured: Blinn’s Cierra Pesak passes the ball during a game against Panola College on Sept. 21, 2023)
Blinn’s region is also no cake walk, as the Bucs will play two games against No. 5 Trinity Valley and No. 6 Navarro College, not to mention other tough competitors such as Tyler Junior College and Panola College. The Bucs will have added incentive to perform well in their region this fall, as the Region XIV Tournament will be played at Blinn’s Kruse Center for the first time.
The Bucs finished third in the region with a 13-3 record in 2023.
“We expect nothing but everybody’s best all season long, but I know we’re built to handle it,” Gamble added. “We welcome it, to be honest with you. The only way to improve is to work hard, compete, and be challenged, and I think our schedule is set up for us to do all of those things.”
Blinn’s home matches are played at the Kruse Center located on the Blinn-Brenham Campus and will be broadcast live on www.buccaneersports.com through a partnership with TSBN Sports.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 49 national championships since 1987.
