The sixth-ranked Blinn College volleyball team didn’t just win the Region XIV Tournament on Sunday.
It gained certainty.
Already favorites to qualify for the upcoming NJCAA Division I Volleyball Championship, the Buccaneers left no doubt with a 25-21, 25-18, 16-25, 25-21 victory over 13th-ranked Navarro College in the region tournament championship at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
With the win, Blinn (38-2) secured an automatic berth at the 16-team national tournament, which begins Wednesday, Nov. 20, at the Winfield Dunn Center on the campus of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn. The Bucs’ appearance at nationals will be their fifth in as many seasons.
“We were pretty focused coming into today, and I think we were determined,” seventh-year Blinn head coach Terry Gamble said. “I think we’re one of the best teams in the country, and our girls deserve to be where they are right now. To win the conference and win the region, it’s a testament to our girls, and it’s icing on the cake to get to go to the national tournament.”
Navarro did its best to stand in Blinn’s way, but the Bucs — winners of 31 consecutive matches — prevailed just as they had time and again this season.
(Pictured: Blinn’s spikes the ball over the net during a match against Navarro College on Nov. 11, 2024)
In the opening set, Blinn never trailed but did find itself deadlocked with the Bulldogs four times, including an 18-all stalemate late. The Bucs pulled away for good with a 7-3 match-ending run that concluded with a perfect set from freshman setter Leah Hoss to sophomore right-side hitter Kellen Dorotik, who spiked a kill to Navarro’s end line.
“Everything just seemed to be clicking for us,” Dorotik said. “Our hitters were on their game, our defense played an insanely good match, and I think what you saw today was just a result of us ticking up the intensity in practice and being prepared.”
Blinn was again in control from the outset in set two, responding to a 1-0 deficit with a 10-2 push. The Bucs never trailed again and thwarted the Bulldogs’ attempts to pull even. Leading 23-18, Blinn tallied the final two points of the set on a kill from freshman outside hitter MaKenna Loo and a Navarro hitting error.
“Everybody did their part today,” Loo said. “Navarro is a great team and playing them three times this season has been a lot of fun. Whenever you have two teams going against each other, you have to have great plays and great energy, and I think that’s kind of what fueled us throughout the match.”
Navarro managed to stall Blinn temporarily in the third set as the Bucs had trouble with its serve receive and hitting errors. One game was all Blinn would yield, however, as it got right back to work in the fourth.
(Pictured: Blinn’s MaKenna Loo reaches back to spike the ball during a match against Navarro College on Nov. 11, 2024)
After the Bulldogs built a quick 5-3 cushion, an 8-0 run handed the Bucs a lead they would not relinquish. Navarro made it a game in the latter stages of the set and were within 22-19 and 24-21 before Blinn finished it out.
Back-to-back errors by the Bulldogs put the Bucs on the brink, and after two straight points from Navarro, Loo tallied a kill to earn match point.
“MaKenna has done everything we’ve asked of her this season,” Gamble explained. “We asked her to be one of our best in serve receive; one of our best defenders; one of our best hitters; and she’s answered the call every time.”
Loo led Blinn’s offense with 14 kills, Dorotik had 13, and freshman outside hitter Greta Rakow followed with 12. Hoss and freshman setter/blocker Bromli Watson helped the Bucs’ hitters to the tune of 22 and 19 set assists, respectively. Loo and sophomore libero Cierra Pesak had three and two service aces.
Gamble said Blinn’s defense was another big factor in Sunday’s victory, made evident by a robust 77 digs, 10 block assists and three solo blocks.
Pesak anchored the Bucs’ floor defense with a team-high 19 digs, while Loo and Hoss added 13 apiece to go with nine from Rakow. At the net, Dorotik had four block assists and freshman middle blockers Jana Cetkovic and Karolina Karabasz tacked on three and two, respectively. Dorotik, Cetkovic, and Karabasz each had a solo block.
(Pictured: Blinn’s Cierra Pesak recives a serve during a match against Navarro College on Nov. 11, 2024)
“Everybody knew that today was a big game and that we were going to have to work and push ourselves as hard as we could to get the job done,” said Pesak. “We watched Navarro sweep Trinity Valley (Community College) on Saturday and knew the type of game we were coming into. We had faced them twice already and had an idea of what to expect and a plan to counter it, and we executed.”
Dorotik and Pesak were named to the all-tournament team, while Loo was named the tournament MVP.
With its spot in the national tournament cemented, Blinn will now await its seeding. The field of 16 teams will be revealed during a tournament selection show this week. A date and time have yet to be announced by the NJCAA, but the show will be broadcast by the NJCAA Network at www.njcaa.org/network/landing/index.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 49 national championships since 1987.
