NMJC Closes Out Regular Season with Win, Plays Next in Roswell
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
19 | 19 | 25 | 23 | 1 |
|
|
25 | 25 | 20 | 25 | 3 |
Team Stats
Amarillo College
New Mexico Junior College
| Game Statistics | Amarillo College | New Mexico Junior College |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .073 | .182 |
| Blocks | 16.0 | 10.0 |
| Digs | 100 | 115 |
| Aces | 3 | 5 |
The T-Birds capped off a historic regular season with a four-set win over Amarillo College Saturday afternoon (25-19, 25-19, 20-25, 25-23).
NMJC finished the regular season riding an 11-match winning streak, the longest winning streak in program history.
The T-Birds enjoyed Sophomore Day recognition by playing all five sophomores in Saturday's match. The Thunderbirds cruised in the first two sets before running into a rough patch in the third set and falling 25-20.
NMJC fell behind Amarillo late in the fourth set 23-21. The T-Birds were able to rattle off four straight points behind sophomore defensive specialist Luiza Arsufi's service to win the set and match 25-23.
Freshman outside hitter Iva Popovic led the T-Birds with 24 kills and 22 digs in the win. This was her fourth 20/20 double-double of the year. Popovic finished the regular season with 497 kills, which ranks No. 3 in the NJCAA.
Sophomore outside hitter Maggie Machado notched her 17th double-double of the season with 14 kills and 12 digs in the four-set win.
Sophomore libero Milena Cernjanski registered 29 digs, while sophomore Giovana Costarelli chipped in 7 kills.
Sophomore setter Lacie Schooley recorded her 18th double-double of the season with 43 assists and 23 digs. Schooley, a Roswell, NM native, will travel back home to Roswell Saturday to play in the Region V West semifinals.
Rounding out the sophomores for the Thunderbirds was defensive specialist Luiza Arsufi with 16 digs.
The Thunderbirds will play in the Region V West semifinal in Roswell, NM Saturday, Nov. 5 at 10 a.m. MDT against the winner of Midland vs. Frank Phillips. The winner of Saturday morning's match will play for the Region V Championship later that afternoon at 4 p.m.
