No. 11 Blinn College volleyball battled its way to a Region XIV home sweep of Wharton County Junior College on Thursday at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
The 25-23, 25-5, 25-13 victory improved the Buccaneers’ overall record to 32-3 and region mark to 11-2.
Outside of a close first set which saw Wharton County rally out of a 23-17 deficit to tie the match before the Buccaneers ultimately closed it out, Blinn cruised to its 25th sweep of the season.
“We cleaned up our side of the net after making a lot of errors in the first set,” Bucs head coach Terry Gamble said. “We made errors and Wharton County made plays, which is a bad combination. But in sets two or three, the effort increased, and we made the hustle plays to be successful and I was really happy.”
Part of Blinn’s winning strategy Thursday was Gamble’s decision to continue deploying as many of his hitters as possible. Early in the season, the coach said several hitters were receiving playing as his team worked through some kinks but said now those same hitters are being used as part of an effective gameplan. Six Bucs had at least one kill.
(Pictured: Blinn College sophomore hitter Don’Yah Cosie tips the ball over the net against Wharton County Junior College on Oct. 12, 2023)
“It’s by design,” Gamble said on a night in which three of his players finished with 10 or more kills. “We’re doing our best to match what teams are trying to do against us defensively, so that allows us to be flexible in how we use our kids. Our middles have stepped up and our outsides are playing better, so we can spread the ball around and that’s helping us offensively.”
Sophomore blockers Brooke Pattschull and Don’Yah Cosie had 13 and 10 kills, respectively, while freshman hitter Kellen Dorotik also tallied 10 kills for Blinn. It was the first double-digit kill match of the season for Cosie, who said she was ready when her number was called.
“I’m going to take every opportunity I can get and not take anything for granted,” she said. “It means a lot to me that I’m to play a vital role for my team, and if in crunch time they need me, I’m going to be there for them.”
In the center of the Blinn offense were freshman setters Elizabeth Tyner and Chloe Howard, who dished out 21 and 19 set assists, respectively.
(Pictured: Blinn College freshman libero Cierra Pesak passes the ball during a match against Wharton County on Oct. 12, 2023)
On defense, freshman libero Cierra Pesak anchored the floor for the Bucs with a team-best 18 digs. Eleven different players had at least one dig.
“Once we got moving a bit more and more focused in those last two sets, I think we really showed what we can do as a team,” Pesak said. “When we stick to our opponent scouting reports and follow the things that we’ve been coached to do, we’re successful, and that was the case tonight.”
At the net, Pattschull added five block assists, while Cosie had two solo blocks.
Up next for the Bucs is a region home matchup against Victoria College on Thursday, Oct. 19, at 6 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 44 NJCAA national championships since 1987.?
