NMJC Volleyball Splits Two Matches at Blinn Invitational

The T-Birds won match one at the Blinn Invitational, earning the four-set victory over No. 17 ranked Tyler Junior College. However, NMJC fell in match two in a five-set thriller against Trinity Valley.

The morning matchup with Tyler Junior College went more according to plan for the T-Birds. After falling in the first set, the Thunderbirds bounced back, winning the subsequent three sets in convincing fashion (13-25, 25-18, 25- 22, 25-21).

The always steady Iva Popovic led the way for NMJC with 21 kills and 16 digs. Maggie Machado added 17 kills of her own. Gaby Arias chipped in for the T-Birds with 12 kills to round out the attack for NMJC.

Setter Lacie Schooley added 44 assists for NMJC and libero Luiza Arsufi chipped in 21 digs for the match. 

The T-Birds left it all on the court in the five-set loss in match two versus Trinity Valley (17-25, 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 12-15).

The Thunderbirds lost the first set, won the following two, before ultimately falling in the fourth and fifth set. The five-set marathon set a variety of school records and career highs for the T-Birds.

Iva Popovic notched a career-high 23 kills and a career-high in digs with 21 on the night. Maggie Machado exceeded her previous career-high of 17 kills on Aug 19 with 21 kills in the loss to Trinity Valley. She also set a career-high in digs during the match with 29.  

Setter Lacie Schooley set a school record with 60 assists, while adding nine digs in the loss. Libero Luiza Arsufi set another school record for the Thunderbirds on Friday night with 34 digs. Gaby Arias set a career-high with 14 kills and 10 digs in the match.

NMJC will play two more contests Saturday, Sept. 3 at Blinn. The first matchup will be against Navarro College at 9 a.m. with match two versus Victoria College starting at 3 p.m.