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Blinn College

Scoreboard

Blinn Volleyball Team Celebration 2024
0
North Central Texas NORTH CE
3
Winner Blinn College BLINN CO
North Central Texas NORTH CE
0
Final
3
Blinn College BLINN CO
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
North Central Texas NORTH CE 13 16 16 (0)
Blinn College BLINN CO 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

No. 15 Buccaneers begin daunting Kruse Kickoff Classic with sweep of NCTC

Blinn will face No. 10 New Mexico and No. 8 Odessa on day two of the Classic

On the doorstep of one of its toughest stretches in recent memory, the Blinn College volleyball team started it out with a bang.

The 15th-ranked Buccaneers made quick work of North Central Texas College on Thursday, opening the Kruse Kickoff Classic with a 25-13, 25-16, 25-16 sweep at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.

On Friday, Blinn (5-0) will continue the Classic with bouts against No. 10 New Mexico Junior College (1 p.m.) and No. 8 Odessa College (5 p.m.), before getting right back to work Saturday with tilts against 14th-ranked Daytona State College (11 a.m.) and 2023 national runner-up and No. 2 Miami Dade College (5 p.m.).

The Bucs looked ready for the challenge in their opener, working through some offensive and defense miscues to pull together a strong effort against the Lions.

Sophie Ilagan 2024
(Pictured: Blinn freshman libero Sophie Ilagan receives a serve during a game against North Central Texas College on Aug. 29, 2024)

"Tonight was a good win for us," Blinn head coach Terry Gamble said. "Every team in this tournament is a good team and I was excited about who we were going to be playing each day. The results are going to take care of themselves, but I think we're going to get better as a team this weekend – win or lose – because of the competition we're facing."

At times, Blinn showed its youth (13 freshmen) with some hitting errors at the net and some miscommunications on serve receives, but the Bucs are confident that more time together on the hardwood will provide more cohesion.

"We've basically known each other for about a month," freshman libero Sophie Ilagan said. "We have great connections with each other off the court, but we're still learning how to bring those connections into the games. We're still getting into the groove of playing together, but with more work and focus we're going to put it all together and keep winning."

A pair of connections that appeared to be firing on all cylinders for Blinn were the serves from freshman setter Bromli Watson to Thursday night's top hitters Kellen Dorotik (sophomore) and MaKenna Loo (freshman). Watson served up 33 set assists, with Dorotik and Loo taking advantage of their opportunities to the tune of 17 and 13 kills, respectively. Freshman hitter Rosalinda Navarro chipped in eight kills.

Kellen Doroktik 2024
(Pictured: Blinn sophomore hitter Kellen Dorotik prepares to spike the ball against North Central Texas College on Aug. 29, 2024)

Blinn's floor defense was strong as Ilagan tallied a team-high 12 digs, followed by 11 for Watson and eight for Loo. At the net, Dorotik paced Blinn with five block assists, while freshman middle blocker Makaila Piggee and Navarro tacked on four apiece.

"We had really good team energy and the connections between each other were really good," Dorotik said. "We're building our trust for one another on the court every time we play, and I think today showed how much we're improving every time we take the court. We had some nerves and some jitters – probably from being on our home court for the first time this season – but we're expecting to see a lot of really good competition over the next couple of days, so we have to be ready to put that aside and compete."

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 49 national championships since 1987.
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