T-Bird Volleyball Prepares for Hutch

The Thunderbirds made school history Thursday, Nov. 9 when they were selected as one of the four coveted at-large bids to the NJCAA DI Volleyball Championship.

The No. 10 NMJC T-Birds will face the No. 7 Navarro College Bulldogs Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. CDT in Hutchinson, Kan., at Hutchinson Sports Arena.   

The tournament will be live streamed on the NJCAA Network and at https://www.njcaa.org/network/live. The stream is pay-per-view with prices for a day pass costing $12 and the championship pass costing $25 (excludes ESPN+ championship matches Nov. 18).

The tournament is single-elimination, however each team is guaranteed a second game in Hutchinson. The winner of Navarro and NMJC will play Thursday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. CDT and the loser will play at 10 a.m. CDT on Thursday, Nov. 16.

The Thunderbird have faced Navarro College earlier this season. The Bulldogs handed NMJC their first and only non-conference loss of the season on Aug. 25. The three-set loss (25-20, 28-26, 25-21) featured two set points by the T-Birds in the second set, but they were unable to convert on those opportunities. Outside hitter Gaby Arias recorded eight kills and eight digs. Outside hitter Iva Popovic was slowed to just six kills, which was the second-lowest total she recorded all season.

"I think we've grown tremendously in our IQ of the game since then," NMJC volleyball head coach Holli Reyna said. "I think we are much more consistent than when we last played Navarro at the beginning of the year. We're a lot smarter with the ball than we were in week two and I think at this point we're kind of on an uphill slope. If we keep doing what we're doing, we'll be just fine against them."

The Bulldogs are 31-3 on the season and an at-large bid team. Navarro's last match was a three-set loss to Trinity Valley in the Region XIV tournament. The Bulldogs lead the country in service aces with 411, which has been a main point of focus for the T-Birds in their preparation Reyna said.

"I think we pressed this whole week coming into the tournament knowing that we were playing Navarro that they're a really good serving team," Reyna said. "We really pressed our serve receive this week and think that's going to be our ticket to success. We need to be able to stay in system and have a solid surf receive and be able to run our offense so that we can force them to play defense."

The Thunderbirds are coming off an emotional regional tournament where they clawed their way back from five match points and a two set deficit to New Mexico Military Institute. The T-Birds eventually took down the Broncos in the Region V Consolation Semifinal.

NMJC's last match in the tournament was the Region V final against Odessa College. The T-Birds left it all on the court in that match, but ultimately fell in five sets and had to rely on the at-large bid to get into the national tournament. NMJC earned a much needed rest following the tournament. The T-Birds had played 10 sets in four hours on the final day of the Region V tournament.

"I think they played with so much heart at the Region V tournament and getting the bid to the national tournament kind of validated all of their hard work," Reyna said. "Now they kind of have this drive to keep playing with that heart and that they can accomplish really great things. I hope they can enjoy the ride, do it for each other, have fun, and play for the love of the game this week."

This is the first time Coach Reyna has made the national tournament as a coach, however back in 2005 she did make it as a player.

"I got to go to the national championship tournament back in 2005," Reyna said. "It's something I think that stays with you forever. I really have been pressing that on to these young ladies to just enjoy the journey. You are one of so many that would love to be in this position and you guys have earned it. Now's the time to just show and prove what you can do on the court. One day you'll look back and you'll never have any regrets about any of this."

In statistical news, WJCAC Offensive Player of the Year Iva Popovic is only 23 kills away from reaching 1000 career kills in a Thunderbird uniform.

"Iva has been a big part of the success that we've had over the last two years," Reyna said. "Getting 1000 kills is not an easy thing to do. Coming into this tournament, she's ready and she's a competitor. Iva wants to do anything she can to win and is able to carry her teammates along with that attitude. I think she will easily make that mark this weekend."

The No. 10 NMJC T-Birds will face the No. 7 Navarro College Bulldogs Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. CDT in Hutchinson, Kan., at Hutchinson Sports Arena.