BLINN VOLLEYBALL STAYS ALIVE AT NATIONALS
Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information
The ninth-ranked Blinn College volleyball team fended off No. 17 Indian Hills Community College and lived to fight another day.
The Buccaneers advanced to the second round of the ninth-place bracket at the NJCAA Division I Volleyball Championship with a 25-19, 25-21, 24-26, 25-27, 15-7 victory over the Warriors on Thursday in Clarksville, Tenn.
“It has been really cool to see our players on this stage doing everything they can to contribute and to keep the season going,” Blinn head coach Gregg Whitis said. “That speaks to the character of our players and how hard they try, even when we play less than perfect volleyball. Now, we’re looking forward to playing tomorrow.”
Blinn improved to 38-4 and matched its win total from 2024. The Bucs will have a chance to add to it when they take on Eastern Arizona College at 1 p.m. on Friday.
Blinn earned its first victory on the national stage since 2022 thanks to a gritty effort that helped the Bucs stave off an Indian Hills comeback.
After the Bucs took a commanding two-set lead to open the match, the Warriors fought back to force a fifth.
In the final set, Indian Hills grabbed a quick 4-2 lead before Blinn went on a momentum-shifting rally.
Sophomore hitter Olivia Stringer recorded a kill off the Warrior block and sophomore setter Camden Bizot then stepped to the service line and served up an ace to force a tie. Stringer thwarted an Indian Hills attack with a timely block to give her team the lead and a Warrior violation moments later gave the Bucs some breathing room. Stringer added another kill before sophomore hitter Shiloh Jones tacked on a block for an 8-4 Blinn advantage.
The Bucs closed the match with a 7-3 run.
“In the fifth set we played from behind early, but once we got ahead we applied some pressure and stayed ahead,” Whitis explained.
Stringer drew praise from her coach after taking what he called “big swings” for the Bucs on her way to a team-best 16 kills. Jones followed with 12 kills and sophomore hitter Kaliko Schilling tallied 10.
Sophomore setter Leah Hoss had 21 set assists while Bizot chipped in 17.
At the line, Stringer and Schilling had three aces apiece to go with a pair from Bizot.
Bizot had a match-high 18 digs and left Whitis impressed with her ability to produce in and out of her position.
“Camden found other ways to contribute today through her serving and defense,” Whitis said, “and she made some really good decisions with the ball. Her setting choices were excellent in the fifth set.”
Stringer and Schilling finished with 11 digs apiece.
At the net, Sophomore middle blockers Jana Cetkovic and Karolina Karabasz were terrific with six block assists apiece, while Karabasz also recorded one solo block. Freshman hitter Annika Brooks registered five block assists; Stringer had three; and Jones finished with two. Stringer and Jones each had one solo block.