The New Mexico Military Institute Broncos won a close four-set match (25-23, 25-23, 18-25, 25-18) at home against visiting conference foe Amarillo College, to move to 4-1 in the WJCAC and 16-6 overall.
The win marks the 28th straight victory by the Broncos on their home court – their last loss in the Cahoon Armory gym dates back three seasons in a 3-2 loss to Midland College on Oct. 1, 2022.
In set one, NMMI held an early lead, 13-6, but fell behind late. Trailing the Badgers by two, 19-17, freshman opposite Anniston Lustig started a come-back rally with a big kill on the right side. Freshman libero Kae Sato then served up four straight points to put NMMI up, 22-19. Amarillo tied it up at 22, but a solo block by sophomore middle Drianyeliz Ramos Cora put the Broncos back out front, 23-22. Freshman outside hitter Leila Ayala hit one off a Badger block to get NMMI to 24, but the next two points went to Amarillo, 24-23. A Badger service error, long, out-of-bounds, gave NMMI set point.
In the second set, freshman middle Maria Konwerska and sophomore outside hitter Michelle Mlikan combined to finish up the final three points. Konwerska's block put NMMI up 22-21. Tied at 23s, Mlikan got a kill over the middle, and Konwerska won it with a dink over an Amarillo double-block attempt.
The Broncos never held a lead in the third set. They trailed 9-4 at the start, got to within one after an ace by Ramos, then outside kills by both Mlikan and Lustig, 12-11. But service errors - into the net, out along the sideline, or just too long – plagued NMMI's chance to earn the three-set sweep.
Set four started much the same way set three ended, with Amarillo taking an early 3-0 lead. A Mlikan kill stopped that run, followed immediately by a Mlikan ace. Then came a tale of ties: tied at 4s, tied at 7, 8 and 9, tied again at 11 and 12. NMMI finally started pulling away after a big block by Lustig made it 15-13. Ramos then knocked down an untouched shot at center net to make it 16-14. Freshman defensive specialist Davina Griffis served up an ace, 17-14. An Ayala kill-then-block combo gave NMMI their 19th and 20th points. Ramos had another huge swing and kill over the middle to make it 21-15. Sophomore opposite Daicy Benites Franco then helped her squad get the next two points: a kill on the right side, then teamed up with Konwerska on the block, 22-16 and 23-16. Mlikan earned the final two points with a pair of kills: one on the outside over the block, then one on the opposite side off a block.
"Just a lot of errors in set three," said head NMMI coach Shelby Forchtner after the match. "We have just really struggled to put a full match together in conference play. It was nice to be good at the end of the first two sets, but then to turn right around and make that many errors – we've just got to clean it up."
"We just have to be more consistent and be the aggressor," continued Forchtner. "When we serve aggressively, when we're aggressive offensively, it is very hard for other teams to compete. But we just – in the middle of matches – take breaks. Everyone in the stands, all the coaches, just everyone is like 'WHY?'. We've got to figure that out before the end of the season for sure."
On the offensive side, Lustig and Ramos tied for the top spot in kills, each with 12. Ayala had ten kills, Mlikan nine, and Konwerska with eight.
"I do like that there it is not just one player that we are relying on for offense," stated Forchtner. "There's lots of our players who step up from game to game. But it would be nice for all of our players to play a consistent, complete match, instead of taking turns."
For the defense, Sato lead the Broncos with 16 digs; Mlikan had 10.
Ramos got the block crown with 4 assisted; Lustig and Konwerska were close behind with three a piece.
"All the teams in conference are just so much better this year, across the board," finished Forchtner. "We just have to be ready for every single match – we don't get to take any conference games off, at all."
Next up for Forchtner and her Broncos will be two conference road trips: one to Midland College this Saturday, Oct. 4 wit ha 2 pm CDT start; then off to Hobbs to take on New Mexico Junior College on Wednesday, Oct. 8 in a 6 pm MDT match.
NMMI's next home match, putting that 28-win streak again on the line, will be against Odessa College on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 2 pm MDT in the Cahoon Armory gymnasium.