WEATHERFORD DEFEATS BLINN ON DAY ONE AT NATIONALS

Opening day of the NJCAA Division I Volleyball Championship tournament didn't go as planned for the Blinn College Buccaneers. 

A tough 25-16, 25-19, 25-21 sweep at the hands of Weatherford College dropped Blinn into the consolation bracket on Wednesday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kan. 

The 11th-seeded Bucs (34-6) will now face 14th-seeded Casper College (28-13) in an elimination match at 10 a.m. this (Thursday). Blinn can finish as best as ninth place if it wins out. 

Weatherford (33-3), the tournament's No. 6 seed, proved to be too much for the Bucs. Blinn was unable to put together consistent stretches of offense against the Coyotes, as attack and service errors hindered the blue, black, and white. 

"I thought we played hard," Blinn head coach Terry Gamble said. "I thought Kellen Dorotik played great and I thought Brooke Pattschull had a really good match." 

Dorotik, a freshman right-side hitter, finished with a match-high 20 kills. Pattschull, a sophomore middle blocker, had nine kills to go with two solo blocks and a block assist. Freshman setters Chloe Howard and Elizabeth Tyner finished with 21 and 14 set assists, respectively. 

Leading the Bucs' floor defense was freshman libero Cierra Pesak, who tallied 13 digs. Sophomore hitter/blocker Don'Yah Cosie had a solo block with one block assist. 

If Blinn defeats Casper on Thursday, it will take on the winner of the consolation tilt between New Mexico Junior College and Mineral Area College at 1 p.m. on Friday.

(Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information.)