#8 BLINN STAYS UNBEATEN WITH A SWEEP OVER NAVARRO
Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information
A busy non-region schedule prepared No. 8 Blinn College volleyball for Monday night.
So, when the Buccaneers took the court against Navarro College in both teams’ Region 14 opener, that’s exactly what Blinn was – prepared.
The Bucs rolled past the Bulldogs 25-10, 25-12, 25-16 to keep their perfect record intact Monday in Corsicana, Texas.
“I was really happy with how prepared we were, especially after a short turnaround following four matches on Friday and Saturday,” Blinn head coach Gregg Whitis said. “We got a good win on the road behind one of our better performances of the season from start to finish.”
Blinn now has 11 sweeps on the season, including five in a row.
The Bucs are 16-0 for the first time since 2011, when Blinn went undefeated en route to the NJCAA Division I championship. Just two of the Bucs’ victories this fall have come outside of tournament play.
Navarro (6-7) entered the night on a five-game slide, including three losses to nationally ranked squads, but Whitis said he made sure his team was ready for a tough road battle.
“Navarro has been on the short end of a few matches lately, but they also have some big wins,” the coach explained. “When you turn on the tape, you see Navarro has some players you really have to deal with. They have some great players, and their libero (Yuka Urano) is the best libero we’ve seen this season.”
Blinn countered some strong Bulldog serving and hitting with impressive efforst in serve receive and passing. Sophomore hitters Olivia Stringer and Kaliko Schilling anchored that effort against Navarro serving Whitis described as “clean, fast, and flat.”
Sophomore hitter Shiloh Jones and freshman hitter Annika Brooks also earned Whitis’ praise as they provided strong hitting and blocking from the right side. Jones tied Stringer with a team-best eight kills to go with a block assist, while Brooks chipped in six kills and three block assists.
Sophomore setter Leah Hoss had a team-high 19 assists in what Whitis described as another solid and consistent effort before praising freshman setter Camden Bizot for what he said was her best setting performance of the season. She had 12 assists.
“Camden’s set selection and location was solid and consistent,” Whitis stated. “Her presence was good, and our team was affected by her good play. She also served it well and played hard on defense.”
The Bucs picked up nine service aces, including three apiece for Hoss and sophomore middle blocker Jana Cetkovic.
Defensively, Cetkovic was also a force with three solo blocks and a pair of assists. Sophomore middle blocker Karolina Karabasz added three block assists.
On the floor, Schilling and Cetkovic provided a defensive boost to the tune of eight digs each, with Stringer adding seven.
Blinn’s region slate continues with another big matchup against 10th-ranked Trinity Valley Community College at home at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the Kruse Center, in Brenham, Texas.