NMJC Volleyball Ends Kruse Kickoff Classic 2-2

The No. 10 ranked NMJC volleyball team finished the weekend 2-2 at the Kruse Kickoff Classic in Brenham, Texas. 

The Thunderbirds dropped the first match in five sets to No. 20 Navarro, won the second match in three sets versus host No. 11 Blinn CC, dropped another five setter to No. 7 Trinity, and scraped up a win against the pesky Tyler JC Apaches in straight sets. 

The T-Birds end the second week of competition with a 5-3 record and now sit as the No. 14 team in the country according to the new NJCAA rankings poll.

Match 1: No. 10 NMJC vs. No. 20 Navarro (10-25 | 15-25 | 26-24 | 25-17 | 10-15)

The T-Birds struggled out of the gates in the first two sets falling behind 2-0 to No. 20 Navarro College. NMJC trailed by three points 19-16 late in the third set. The T-Birds were within one point 23-22 and then took the 25-24 lead following a Letecia Nevas kill. NMJC won the set 26-24 following a Bulldog hitting error. 

The T-Birds dominated the fourth set scoring six straight points to take an 11-3 lead early in the set. NMJC would go on to win the fourth set 25-17 and tie the match at 2-2. 

The Thunderbirds led the fifth and deciding set 6-4. The Bulldogs unfortunately woke up and scored six straight points. Navarro took control of the match and won the set and match 15-10.

Iza Caroline da Silva was the only T-Bird with double-digit kills at 13. Setter Taina de Lima Nunes recorded a double-double with 14 assists and 11 digs. Sude Omerickoglu had a team-high 19 assists in the match.

Andjela Sojic and Zaira Romero both finished with eight kills. Sojic recorded eight blocks and Romero added seven blocks. The T-Birds as a team finished with 42 kills and 27 blocks in the five-set loss.

Match 2: No. 10 NMJC vs. No. 11 Blinn College (27-25 | 25-19 | 26-24)

The Thunderbirds faced another ranked matchup when NMJC faced host Blinn College. 

The T-Birds trailed 15-11 in the opening set but were able to slip ahead toward the end of the set and take the lead. NMJC had set point three separate times, ultimately defeating the host Buccaneers, 27-25, on a block by Zaira Romero and Andjela Sojic.

The T-Birds won the second set by an easier score of 25-19. The third set was pretty similar to the first set with NMJC trailing late 22-21. 

The Thunderbirds had match point 24-23 but were unable to push through. The second match point went the way of NMJC with Suncica Lekic recording a match-winning solo block to defeat the Buccaneers.   

Libero Izabella Rabelo tied a career high in digs Friday with 22. Setter Sude Omerickoglu had 25 assists and seven digs in the three-set win. Taina de Lima Nunes added 19 assists.

Freshman outside hitter Leticia Neves finished with a team-high 12 kills. Iza Caroline da Silva was the second Thunderbird with double-digit kills tallying 10. Middle blocker Zaira Romero recorded eight kills, while freshman Suncica Lekic added six kills.

Match 3: No. 10 NMJC vs. No. 7 Trinity Valley (19-25 | 27-25 | 25-23 | 22-25 | 5-15)

The T-Birds entered their third straight ranked matchup of the tournament with a five-set doozy against No. 7 Trinity Valley.  

The Thunderbirds fell behind and lost the first set 25-19. NMJC led the second set 24-19, but then gave up six straight points and faced match point 25-24. Middle blocker Suncica Lekic staved off match point with a kill to even the score up at 25 apiece. Iza Caroline da Silva had back-to-back kills for NMJC to extend the match and win the set 27-25. 

The T-Birds trailed in the third set 10-5 but were able to flip the switch and take a commanding 24-21 lead. Trinity fended off two set points and pulled within one point, 24-23. Andjela Sojic won the set 25-23 for the T-Birds on a kill from the right side of the court. 

The Thunderbirds were locked in a tight one down 20-19 in the fourth set. NMJC tied the score up at 22-22 via a hitting error from the Cardinals. Trinity Valley found a spark scoring three straight points to win the set and extend the match to a fifth set. 

The Thunderbirds never really stood a chance in the fifth set as they fell behind 10-0. NMJC eventually dropped the deciding set and the match 15-5.    

Setter Sude Omerickoglu finished with her third double-double of the season notching 27 assists and 17 digs. Sophomore Taina de Lima Nunes recorded her second double-double of the year with 25 assists and 11 digs. Libero Izabella Rabelo added 21 digs in the five-set loss to the Cardinals. 

Andjela Sojic finished with a career-high 13 kills and seven blocks. Sojic has recorded double-digit kills in three out of seven matches this year. Leticia Neves posted 12 kills for the second straight match on Saturday morning. Iza Caroline da Silva reached double figures with 10 kills. Milka Krajisnik finished with a career-high eight kills.

Match 4: No. 10 NMJC vs. Tyler JC (26-24 | 25-23 | 25-10)

NMJC finished their four-match series in Brenham, Texas against Tyler JC Saturday afternoon. 

The Thunderbirds had to battle in the first set against their first unranked team of the tournament. NMJC faced two set points at the tail end of the first set as they were down 24-22. The T-Birds were able to stave off set point and win four in a row to steal the first set 26-24. 

The Thunderbirds fell behind by 10 points, 17-7, to start the second set. NMJC was trailing 19-10 before scoring four straight points to pull within five points, 19-14. The Thunderbirds then went on an 8-3 run to knot up the score at 22 apiece. 

The Apaches and T-Birds alternated points and remained tied at 23. A kill by Milka Krajisnik gave the T-Birds the lead for the first time all set and a huge block by Leticia Neves and Duda Tonella earned NMJC a 25-23 win in the second set. 

The Thunderbirds smoked Tyler JC in the third set 25-10 to earn the sweep.   

Setter Sude Omerickoglu recorded 15 assists in the sweep of the Apaches. Libero Izabella Rabelo added eight digs. 

Outside hitter Leticia Neves finished with eight kills and nine digs. Andjela Sojic recorded seven kills and three blocks. Zaira Romero recorded five blocks. The Thunderbirds finished with 21 blocks and 34 kills in the match.

The T-Birds will play four matches this week at the Odessa College Invitational in Odessa, Texas Sept. 5-7. 

NMJC will play Temple College at 4 p.m. CDT on Thursday, Sept. 5. Then on Friday Sept. 6 the T-Birds will have a morning match against Panola College at 8 a.m. CDT and an afternoon match at 12 p.m. CDT versus Hutchinson CC. 

The final match of the weekend is Saturday, Sept. 7 at 12 p.m. against Dodge City CC.