BLINN VOLLEYBALL FALLS TO TRINITY VALLEY IN REGION XIV TOURNAMENT FINALS
Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information
The No. 9 Blinn College volleyball team fell just short of an automatic bid for the NJCAA Division I Volleyball Championship tournament on Sunday.
In a Region 14 Tournament championship showdown with No. 6 Trinity Valley Community College, the Buccaneers gave the Cardinals all they could handle but ultimately fell 26-28, 16-25, 25-18, 23-25 at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
“There’s no shame in losing; shame only comes from not giving a good account of your own ability,” Blinn head coach Gregg Whitis said, “and I thought our kids really did everything they could to win this match.”
Trinity Valley is now qualified for the national tournament, which begins Wednesday, Nov. 19, at the Winfield Dunn Center in Clarksville, Tenn. Blinn (37-3) is hoping to earn an at-large bid and play on the national stage for a sixth consecutive season. The field of 16 will be revealed during the tournament selection show on www.njcaa.org at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 12.
Sunday’s match between the second-seeded Bucs and top-seeded Cardinals was their third meeting this fall.
Trinity Valley rallied to take the first set before taking the second and putting itself in position for a sweep.
Blinn battled back in impressive fashion in the third and earned its first set victory over the Cardinals this season.
In the fourth set, the Bucs controlled play from almost start to finish, building a 12-6 lead early before taking a 20-18 cushion into the match’s final moments.
A service ace from sophomore hitter Kaliko Schilling put Blinn ahead by three, but the Cardinals rallied for three consecutive points for a 21-all tie.
After the two teams traded points, sophomore hitter Olivia Stringer secured her team-high 16th and final kill of the match to give the Bucs their final lead at 23-22.
The Cardinals answered with another three-point burst to finish the match.
“We had a chance to win that fourth set, but you have to make plays against a good team,” Whitis added. “Good teams aren’t going to let you win; you have to beat them.”
Schilling followed Stringer with 12 kills and freshman hitter Annika Brooks added six.
Sophomore setters Leah Hoss and Camden Bizot dished out 21 and 15 set assists, respectively.
At the service line, Schilling paced the Bucs with four aces while Bizot tacked on a pair.
Bizot and freshman defensive specialist/libero Zoey Montgomery led Blinn’s floor defense with 12 digs apiece, and Schilling added nine.
At the net, the Bucs produced a solid blocking performance with 13 total team blocks.
Sophomore middle blocker Jana Cetkovic spearheaded that effort with two solo blocks and five assists, and Brooks recorded seven assists.
After the match, Stringer and Cetkovic were named to the Region XIV All-Tournament Team.