Peter Dindinger – NMMI Sports Press
Only one game stood in between the New Mexico Military Institute Bronco volleyball team and an automatic berth to the national tourney.
On Tuesday night, the Broncos protected their unblemished record at home with a straight-set sweep of the Arizona Western Matadors, 25-16, 25-8, 25-13, at the Godfrey Athletic Center to capture the Southwest District B title.
NMMI (30-4) makes its first appearance at the NJCAA Division I Championship since 2019. The tourney takes place in Hutchinson, Kan., Nov. 18-20.
The Broncos are 11-0 at home while riding a 17-game winning streak.
Aside from the victory, NMMI head coach Shelby Forchtner celebrated a milestone by notching her 400th career victory at the Institute.
"We've been playing so consistently late, and I just hope that we carry that into nationals," said Forchtner. "I truly feel we have a team that can contend this year. We have a strong mentality.
"We work well together, we push each other day in and day out. It was just cool to win again on our home floor."
In the opening set, Megan Waghorn tallied the first point for NMMI in the form of a service ace.
After the only tie of the set, the Broncos used an ace by Jalen Baca to fuel a 4-0 run.
The lead grew to six when Dana Manu got a clutch kill.
NMMI played consistently solid as the score was 15-8 after a kill by Marian Ovalle.
Katarzyna Niderla and Ovalle notched the final two kills to give the Broncos the 25-16 win.
Playing with tons of electricity fueled by a packed gym, NMMI continued its streak into the second set as Ovalle got her team on the board with a kill.
Manu tallied a block to make the score 6-1 early on.
The Broncos used another 4-0 run that included a block from Barbara Guedes Rezende, a pair of kills by Ovalle and another clutch kill from Niderla.
Waghorn notched another service ace to give NMMI a 14-point lead late in the set.
NMMI was able to hold the Matadors to single digits to get ahead in the match 2-0.
Arizona Western (17-8) never led in the entire match. There were only two ties in the score the whole night.
The Broncos overcame a 2-2 tie early in the final set as Darcy Dodd gave them the lead with a kill.
NMMI went on another offensive spree that had a pair of kills from Ovalle and Manu as well as a clutch block by Karya Suvariouglu to make the score 12-4.
The Broncos stayed in control to eventually take an 11-point lead down the stretch.
Ovalle tallied the final point of the night off a service ace to send the Broncos into a celebration.
Offensively, Ovalle led the way with 13 kills, two aces, an assist, 13 digs and two block assists.
Niderla chipped in with eight kills while Manu and Dodd each finished with six apiece.
Mio Yamamoto finished with nine digs while Waghorn tallied 20 assists, three service aces and six digs.
Suvarioglu had 11 assists.
NMMI, which is ranked sixth in the nation, becomes the 14th and final team to earn an automatic bid to nationals.
"It's never ever been about me. The moment I started coaching, every year it's been about the kids I coach," Forchtner added. "They're the ones that got me 400 wins. I just appreciate the fact God's given me the ability to do this day in and day out. It's a cool situation to be in."