NMMI Sports Press
The No. 4 Bronco Volleyball team ran up against a juggernaut Friday in Salt Lake City at the Crystal Inn-vitational, falling 3-1 against the big hitters of the No. 2 Miami Dade College Sharks.
Sophomore opposite Leah Linares matched her kill total from the previous day's game with 24, while sophomore middle and outside Alyssa Portee played Robin to Linares' Batman once again with 11 kills.
But much like Thursday's matchup against the host Salt Lake CC Bruins, the rest of the Broncos found little success on the offensive end.
"After watching Dade this morning, we knew we'd have to play at a really high level and we just didn't do it," said NMMI head coach Shelby Forchtner. "They have a lot of big swings. Their freshman middle was especially aggressive and creative."
The 6-foot-4 standout for the Sharks, Esthefany Rabit, smashed balls into the hardwood and off the Bronco blocks while also converting several deceptive touch shots that caught NMMI by surprise.
The Broncos started the first set sluggishly, falling into a 9-3 hole, but big swings from Linares and Portee pulled them back within three points at 12-9. The Sharks maintained the lead for several volleys, but NMMI took advantage of some disorganized rotations by Miami and made a run to pull within a point at 19-18.
After a Sharks timeout, sophomore middle blocker Vitoria Oliveira tied the match with a cross-court laser from the right side, followed by a Linares smash down the line to give NMMI its first lead of the game at 21-20.
The array of 6-foot-plus Miami hitters kept applying pressure, sending Broncos diving for balls as they retook the lead. Oliveira tied it again at 23-all, but a sneaky push shot to the left corner and a hot serve finished off the scrambling Broncos in the opening set.
Linares had the hot hand to open the second period as NMMI jumped out to a 6-3 lead, but the Sharks battled back and eventually pulled ahead 17-14.
Miami lost focus and handed the Broncos a few points off unforced errors before Oliveira and Linares managed to just get fingertips on a big Miami swing that fell just inside the Sharks' side of the net, regaining the lead at 20-19.
Again, Miami came out of a timeout more composed and found the open spots in the Bronco defense to retake the lead. Linares brought the Institute back within a point at 23-22, but the Sharks kept pounding away for another 25-23 win.
The Broncos produced little offense outside of Linares and Portee, but most of it came in the third set, with big hits and solid service from sophomore outside Rhiana Todd and a couple kills by freshman middle and opposite Yuliana Favela.
The Broncos kept the Sharks on their fins for the entire set and pulled away 25-18, the only set where both squads didn't score at least 22 points.
Rabit dominated much of the fourth set, but Linares and Portee helped the Broncos stay within striking distance in a 25-22 loss to end the match.
After the match, Forchtner said her team will need more than two efficient scorers if they want to salvage a 2-2 split. And they'll have to win those matches back-to-back tomorrow at 11 a.m. against Casper College and at 3 p.m. against fifth-ranked Northeastern Junior College.
"Leah has big for us in almost every game this season and Alyssa has really improved after not playing a ton last year," she said. "Those have been the only two kids that can find the open spaces up here. We need Vitoria and Yuli to get back on the train. NJC is a really good team all around. Miami had a lot of weaknesses and we just didn't take advantage of them."