T-Bird (VB) Wins Regular-Season Finale, Heads to Region V Tournament as No. 3 Seed

The Thunderbirds closed the 2024 regular season with a win over Amarillo College in straight sets Wednesday, Nov. 2.  

The win snapped a four-game skid where NMJC fell to NMMI, Odessa, Midland, and Western Texas. NMJC clinched the third spot in the WJCAC standings with the win.

The T-Birds 17-13 (7-7) will now play NTJCAC's No. 2 ranked Vernon College 17-12 (10-4) in the first round of the Region V tournament on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 11 a.m. MST in Roswell, NM at the New Mexico Military Institute.

The Thunderbirds defeated the Amarillo College Badgers in three sets Saturday afternoon (25-22, 25-18, 25-19). NMJC celebrated three sophomores prior to the first serve against Amarillo with the trio of libero Sofie Caballero, setter Taina De Lima Nunes and setter Sude Omerickoglu. 

The Thunderbirds were locked in a tight one in the first set. NMJC trailed 21-19 before rattling off kills by Neves, Sojic, Kincaid, and Sojic. A service ace by Neves continued the 5-0 run that gave the T-Birds a 24-21 lead. Outside hitter Ava Kincaid finished off the Badgers with a kill to give NMJC a 25-21 win in Set 1. 

The second set was all knotted midway through at 16 apiece. The T-Bird won nine of the next 11 points to take the set 25-18.  

The Thunderbirds fell behind 5-0 to start the third. Amarillo maintained a 14-11 lead later in the set, but the Bulldogs gave up the lead when the T-Birds battled back to tie the score at 17-17.

The T-Birds scored three straight to take a three-point lead, 20-17, over the Badgers. Amarillo stayed within three points, 22-19, later in the set. A kill by Neves, a block by Neves and Lekic, and an ace by Caballero iced the game and gave NMJC a 25-19 win in the final match of the season inside the Caster Activity Center. 

Outside hitter Andjela Sojic led the Thunderbirds with nine kills in the match. Outside hitters Leticia Neves and Ava Kincaid both registered eight digs and seven kills. Libero Sofie Caballero finished with 16 digs.

Setter Sude Omerickoglu recorded 18 assists, while Taina de Lima Nunes added 12 assists.

Freshman Duda Tonella finished with six blocks in the three-set win. Middle blocker Zaira Romero ended the match with seven kills and four blocks.

The Region V Tournament can be found on TBSN sports. Fans can find a direct link to the first round matchup versus Vernon by clicking here.

The double-elimination tournament will send two teams from Region V to Clarksville, TN for an automatic-berth into the NJCAA Volleyball Championships held at the Dunn Center on the campus of Austin Peay State University.

NMJC and Vernon will start their quest for nationals Thursday, Nov. 7 at 11 a.m. MST in Roswell, NM.