BLINN BUCS SWEEP NAVARRO TO CLINCH REGION XIV CROWN

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

Facing high stakes in a pivotal rivalry matchup, the ninth-ranked Blinn College volleyball team answered the call like a champion.

A Region XIV champion, that is.

The Buccaneers swept No. 14 Navarro College 25-17, 29-27, 25-20 on Thursday at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas, completing a season sweep of the Bulldogs while more importantly securing the regular-season region championship and the top seed in the upcoming region tournament.

Additionally, finishing the regular season as the region champion almost certainly guarantees Blinn (34-2, 12-0 Region XIV) an at-large bid for the NJCAA Division I Volleyball Championship tournament in the event they do not win the region tournament and an outright bid.

The Bucs last won the region title in 2021.

"Tonight was really big for us," Blinn head coach Terry Gamble said. "This win puts us in pretty good shape in terms of nationals consideration. We know we still have work to do as a volleyball team, but what happened tonight allowed us to check off a pretty big box on our season to-do list."

Navarro, which entered the match two games behind the Bucs in second place in the region standings, did its best to deny Blinn the crown and its 27th consecutive victory.

In the opening set, the Bucs look poised to run away early, building a 10-4 lead to take control. The Bulldogs instead rallied to tie the game at 11-all before Gamble called a well-timed timeout.

"Coach told us to limit the errors, regroup, and refocus," Blinn sophomore right-side hitter Kellen Dorotik said. "We all knew what was at stake tonight and I think that was motivation enough to get things fixed quickly."

The Bucs took their coach's advice and used a Dorotik kill straight out of the timeout to start a 6-0 set-saving rally.

Freshman setter/blocker Bromli Watson ended the game with a nifty set dump to the center of the Bulldog court.

The two teams again engaged in a tight battle in the middle set, with Blinn needing a late rally and extra points to position itself for the sweep.

After the Bucs inched ahead 15-13 midway through, Navarro scored five straight points to grab the lead. Watson and freshman middle blocker Jana Cetkovic teamed up for a block during the next volley to send Blinn on another 6-0 burst for a 21-18 edge. 

The Bucs reached set point at 24-21, but the Bulldogs survived with a quick 3-0 rally to force the two-point win condition. 

The Bulldogs were within a set victory once at 26-25, but Blinn recovered with a 4-1 push. With the game tied at 27, Dorotik sent a kill down the Navarro sideline, and Watson and Cetkovic followed with another tandem block to seal it.

"It starts with coaching," Cetkovic said. "We work on blocking every single day, so credit starts with our coaches. The energy tonight … from the fans in the bleachers to our bench and our players on the court … was also huge for us and really helped us out there."

To no one's surprise, the third set was tightly contested, with Blinn attempting to pull away early and often only for the Bulldogs to storm right back.

Trailing 21-16, Navarro closed the gap with a 4-0 move, but that's where its momentum would stop. Freshman outside hitter MaKenna Loo got the Bucs back on track with a kill, Dorotik followed with back-to-back successful attacks, and freshman setter Leah Hoss followed with an ace at the service line to seal it.

"The credit goes to the players," Gamble said. "We had what I thought was a pretty good gameplan, and even though at times we got away from it when we started getting big leads, the girls came out of our timeouts, regrouped, and went and made plays."

Dorotik had a big offensive night with a team-high 20-kills, followed by nine for Cetkovic, seven for Loo, and five for Watson. Hoss and Watson had 17 and 13 set assists, respectively. At the service line, sophomore libero Cierra Pesak tallied four aces.

On defense, Cetkovic set the tone at the net with an impressive six block assists to go with one solo. Watson added four assists.

On the floor, Pesak was a defensive menace with 15 digs, while Loo and freshman libero Sophie Ilagan chipped in 12 and 11, respectively.