BY BROOKE ALVERSON

Navarro travelled to Brenham, TX to take on the Blinn Buccaneers at their home court in the Kruse Center. Final match scores were 25-18, 28-26, 25-23. 

Navarro started slow in the first set going down 3-8. An ace from outside hitter Johanna Alcantara and a couple of kills from outside hitter Nataly Garcia turned the momentum for the 'Dawgs to draw into a 10-9 lead. NC went on a couple runs to finish out the first set at 25-18. 

The second set saw a lot more battle back and forth for NC as the Buccaneers had a couple kills from their rightside hitter, Jayde Shelton. The 'Dawgs focused in on the contest to narrowly escape a dropped set, winning 28-26. 

Head Coach Ariel Apolinario was pleased with the effort, "We're going in the right direction and that feels good that knowingly mid-season we are still growing. We stuck to the game plan, with some missed assignments, but at the same time we were able to correct ourselves within games. We're proud of the mental preparation and the ability to compete on the road. I thought the ability to stay in the moment for the last ten to fifteen points of games two and three was critical for the outcome of the match.  We took advantage of opportunities and we were able to execute.

There were multiple players who stepped up for us. Jada came in and helped on the net and scored in key moments for our team."

Middle Blocker, Jada Close, had a successful night at the net with 11 kills on 17 attempts hitting .470 percent and contributing five total blocks. Laurel Nalls had closed the first set with a setter attack of her own causing a stir in momentum going into the second set. 

The 'Dawgs prepare for another conference matchup against Coastal Bend College this Thursday at 5 PM CST. 

Follow Navarro Volleyball on social media for live stats and behind the scenes of their travel. 

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