The seventh-ranked Blinn College volleyball team battled back from a two-set deficit to force a decisive fifth, but Navarro College pulled away late to defeat the Buccaneers in a Region 14 matchup Thursday at the Kruse Center in Brenham. Navarro earned a 26-24, 25-19, 22-25, 22-25, 15-8 victory.
Blinn (17-4 overall, 0-3 Region 14) appeared poised to take the opening set after rallying for a 24-21 advantage, but Navarro scored the final five points to steal the 26-24 win.
"We should have won the first set; we gave the first set away at 24-21," Blinn head coach Gregg Whitis said.
Navarro carried the momentum into the second set, taking a 25-19 victory to move within one set of closing out the match.
The Bucs answered in the third. Blinn never trailed in the set and held off the Bulldogs 25-22 to extend the match.
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The fourth set featured a back-and-forth battle throughout. Navarro built a 20-17 advantage late, but a Bulldogs hitting error sparked a Blinn rally. Another Navarro error pulled the Bucs within one before the Bulldogs answered with a kill for a 21-19 lead.
Sophomore middle blocker Alana Asante then recorded a solo block, and after Navarro pushed its advantage to 22-20, Blinn responded following a timeout with five consecutive points to even the match at two sets apiece.
Asante opened the run with a kill, followed by a pair of Navarro errors. Freshman hitter Nevaeh English added a kill, and another Bulldogs error gave Blinn a 25-22 triumph.
The Bucs were unable to carry that momentum into the fifth set, as Navarro raced to a 9-1 lead and eventually closed out the match.
Freshman hitter Brandi Johnson led the Bucs with 11 kills, while sophomore middle blocker Alana Asante added 10 kills on 16 attacks and a .563 hitting percentage. Asante also recorded three solo blocks and five block assists for a team-high 16.5 points.
Freshman hitter Nevaeh English finished with 10 kills and three block assists, while freshman hitter Akira Smallwood had seven kills. Sophomore hitter Kassandra De La Garza and freshman middle blocker Kansas Lamar each contributed five kills.
Lamar was particularly efficient, recording her five kills on eight attacks without an error for a .625 hitting percentage.
"We've got some young kids whose roles are way bigger now than what they were at the start of the year, and we're trying to find out how to play without two kids that carried a big load for us," Whitis said. "It's just tough right now. Our region is tough, but we'll just stay with it."
Up next, Blinn hosts Lee College for a Region 14 tilt at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at the Kruse Center.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 53 national championships since 1987.
