2024 NMJC Volleyball Season Preview

The NMJC volleyball team begins the 2024 season Thursday, Aug. 22 at the Midland Kick-off Classic. 

The T-Birds are competing in a four-match series this weekend in Midland, Texas from Aug. 22-24. NMJC starts the tournament against the North Central Texas College Lions Thursday, Aug. 22 at 5 p.m. CDT. 

The Thunderbirds finished last year with a 30-8 (11-3) record and reached the NJCAA DI Volleyball Championship for the first time in program history. NMJC is ranked No. 10 in this year's preseason poll, which is the highest preseason ranking in program history.

NCTC is coming off a 2023 season where they went 21-15 (10-4) in 36 matches. The Thunderbirds next match is against Panola College on Friday at 2:30 p.m. CDT. The Ponies were 16-15 (9-9) in 31 matches last year. 

The Saturday slate features a doubleheader with the T-Birds facing Colby Community College at 8 a.m. CDT and Lee College at 2 p.m. CDT.

Colby Community College had a productive 2023 season going 23-11 (11-5) as they took home the Region VI title last season. Lee College is the final team on the schedule for opening weekend. The Navigators are looking to flip the script this season after compiling an 8-17 (5-11) record in 2023.

The Thunderbird volleyball squad only returns three players from the 2023 season. Setters Taina de Lima Nunes and Sude Omerickoglu are back on offense and Sofie Caballero will hold down the libero/defensive specialist spot on defense.

NMJC has 11 freshmen joining the mold this year as they try to replace a 2023 squad that was the winningest in program history with 30 victories.      

"These first few weeks have definitely been about building the culture and expectations that have been established over the last few years," NMJC volleyball head coach Holli Reyna said. "Our foundation is based on hard work and coachability and our focus has been to establish it early. This group has been doing both of these things which will allow us to begin work on a higher volleyball IQ and ability to play faster, both of those attributes are a big part of the learning curve for freshmen."

The WJCAC is going to be competitive as per usual with three teams in the conference ranked in the top-12 of the NJCAA national preseason poll (No. 8 Odessa, No. 10 NMJC, and No. 12 NMMI).

"I think it's a rebuilding year for quite a few programs, but that's just part of JUCO life," Reyna said. "I have been very fortunate and honestly humbled to have had such hard working teams that have jumped in headfirst in terms of what it takes to be successful. That is why culture is so important, the sooner everyone is on the same page, the further we can go."

The Thunderbirds will also have a new face on the assistant side with Victoria Spragg. The former University of New Mexico volleyball player brings a wealth of knowledge from her time in DI. 

"Victoria has brought a ton of experience and knowledge to the table," Reyna said." She works very well with the team, is able to direct them from technique to strategy, and has bought into the culture 100%. She's been an amazing addition, and it will be exciting to see where we can take this new team."

The T-Birds will play in four matches this week in Midland, Texas with every game streamed live on TBSN. Fans can find the link to the stream by clicking here.