Skip To Main Content

Blinn College

Scoreboard

Jana Cetkovic & Kaliko Schilling 2025
0
New Mexico Junior Co NEW MEXI
3
Winner Blinn College BLINN CO
New Mexico Junior Co NEW MEXI
0
Final
3
Blinn College BLINN CO
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
New Mexico Junior Co NEW MEXI 27 23 15 (0)
Blinn College BLINN CO 29 25 25 (3)
2
Odessa College ODESSA C
3
Winner Blinn College BLINN CO
Odessa College ODESSA C
2
Final
3
Blinn College BLINN CO
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Odessa College ODESSA C 13 19 25 25 11 (2)
Blinn College BLINN CO 25 25 20 18 15 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

No. 20 Blinn continues stacking victories with sweep of New Mexico, five-set win over No. 19 Odessa

The Buccaneers went unbeaten at the Kruse Kickoff Classic and improved their record to 11-0

The 20th-ranked Blinn College volleyball team swept pesky New Mexico Junior College and went toe-to-toe with always-tough No. 19 Odessa College before prevailing in five sets on the final day of the Kruse Kickoff Classic on Saturday at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.

The Buccaneers topped the Thunderbirds 29-27, 25-23, 25-15 before outlasting the Wranglers 25-14, 25-19, 20-25, 18-25, 15-11.

"We had a little bit of everything today," Bucs head coach Gregg Whitis said. "I'm proud of the way we're building, the way our kids are sticking together, and how they're always ready."

Blinn (11-0) entered the day with an opportunity to close out its first home tournament of the season with a perfect record and took its first step toward that feat with its sweep of New Mexico.

A back-and-forth first set went the way of the Bucs after they rallied out a 17-13 hole with a 7-3 run.

Olivia Stringer 2025
(Pictured: Blinn's Olivia Stringer spikes the ball over the net during a match against Odessa on Aug. 30, 2025)

After Blinn tied the set at 20-all, the two teams traded points until the Bucs snapped a 27-27 tie with a kill from sophomore hitter Kaliko Schilling and a kill from freshman hitter Annika Brooks.

The second set proved to be another tight affair, as Blinn turned a 19-17 deficit into a 21-19 edge after Schilling capped a short run with a free ball kill to New Mexico's center court. 

The Bucs would never trail again as sophomore middle blocker Jana Cetkovic finished the set with a kill from the middle.

In the final set of the match, Blinn opened a 5-1 lead early and held a 17-7 advantage midway through the match.

The Thunderbirds fought back, but the Bucs fended them off late and ended the match when Schilling earned a kill of the block for the win.

"Against good teams, it comes down to who makes the plays late," Whitis said. "In those first two sets against New Mexico, we just made more plays than they did after 20 (points). Then in the third set, I just thought we served better, got them out of system, and played clean."

For the match, the Bucs swung at a whopping .393 success rate, totaling 56 kills to just 12 errors.

Sophomore hitter Olivia Stringer racked up 19 kills and continues to lead NJCAA Division I with 155 total. Schilling, who is second to Stringer nationally with 116, had 17 against the Thunderbirds.

Annika Brooks 2025
(Pictured: Blinn's Annika Brooks spikes the ball during a match against Odessa on Aug. 30, 2025)

Freshman hitter Annika Brooks had nine kills.

Sophomore setter Leah Hoss handed out 31 set assists, with freshman setter Camden Bizot adding 16.

On defense, Stringer and Hoss defended the floor to the tune of 15 digs apiece. Freshman defensive specialist/libero Zoey Montgomery added nine. At the net, Brooks and Schilling had one solo block apiece, while Cetkovic had a team-best two block assists.

Blinn was poised for back-to-back sweeps to end the tournament after it got off to a 2-0 start against Odessa, but the Wranglers battled back to force a decisive fifth set.

"I was really proud of how we came out against Odessa," Whitis said. "We were really prepared, and we were locked in early. But after Odessa tied it up in the third set, we sort of fell into our old bad habits of moving the scoreboard for the other team. They scratched out the third set from us and we didn't respond in the fourth set."

After taking Stringer and Kaliko out of the rotation temporarily in the fourth set, he re-entered the hitters late in the set and said that while the Bucs didn't stage a rally, they regained enough momentum to propel them to a strong finish in the fifth.

The Bucs trailed just 1-0 and 2-1 in the final set before a Schilling kill kickstarted a 6-1 run for a 7-3 Blinn advantage.

The Wranglers pulled within 12-11, but Blinn scored the final three points of the match on an Odessa service error, a Stringer kill, and a Schilling service ace.

"This team really shows heart," Whitis added. "We don't give in, even when we're not playing our best, and I'm proud of that. When we play less than perfect, we're still really intentional about what we're doing and we don't let go of the rope."

Stringer and Kaliko were again outstanding for the Bucs with 17 and 15 kills, respectively. Bizot led the Bucs' distribution efforts with 21 set assists, and Hoss tacked on 18. 

Camden Bizot 2025
(Pictured: Blinn's Camden Bizot sets the ball during a match against Odessa on Aug. 30, 2025)

At the line, Schilling had an impressive five aces followed by three for Bizot.

Blinn's floor defense notched 82 digs, paced by 14 for Stringer, 13 for Hoss, 12 for Schilling, and 11 for Montgomery.

Cetkovic was strong at the net with a trio of solo blocks and six assists. Schilling also had a solo block and two assists, Brooks chipped in three assists, and sophomore middle blocker Karolina Karabasz and sophomore hitter Shiloh Jones had two assists apiece.

Following the long weekend of action, the Bucs will now have a five-day break from play before beginning the two-day North Central Texas Tournament against Dallas College Brookhaven at noon on Friday, Sept. 5, in Gainsville, Texas. 

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 53 national championships since 1987.
Print Friendly Version