NMMI Sports Press
The Broncos won their 17th-consecutive match Saturday, sweeping Frank Phillips College on the road to cap off a perfect 14-0 conference record ahead of next week's NJCAA Region V Tournament where NMMI will be the top seed for the West.
The Institute's big hitters made quick work of the Lady Plainsmen, with sophomore middle Vitoria Oliveira turning in her usual above-average performance and sophomore opposite Leah Linares' nearly perfect 13-of-14 with no errors.
Sophomores Alyssa Portee and Adriana De Jesus each had efficient scoring outings with no hitting errors, as did freshmen Sarah Schubert and Alissa Benavides.
Freshman setter Dilean Bounds had 20 assists and three aces on 17 serves with three errors while splitting setting duties with sophomore utility Kekililani Helekahi, who had 16 assists and an ace as well as two kills, five digs and a block assist.
Freshman libero Fuka Sekita led the team with 13 digs and three other Broncos contributed six each. Oliveira had five of the Broncos' 12 assisted blocks.
Lately, it hasn't mattered if it's a team near the bottom of the standings, or a highly-ranked squad with potential All-Americans, the Broncos have been running through whoever steps on the court with them.
With multiple top-5 and top-10 teams throughout the season, the Western Junior College Athletic Conference didn't look like a league that would produce an undefeated regular-season champion, something head coach Shelby Forchtner told her squad early on.
"I really didn't think anyone would make it through unbeaten, but I guess our kids took that as a challenge," she said. "They've really locked in, especially during this second round of conference play, and we are playing our best volleyball at the right time."
In the early part of the season, Odessa College looked like NMMI's equal, as both squads attended the same tournaments, beating some of the same quality opponents. When the two teams met for the first time this season in Odessa in September, the Broncos came back for a huge 3-2 win and followed that up with a 3-1 home win over New Mexico Junior College.
Both teams held top five national rankings at the time. When they played again in October, NMMI swept both matches.
"I don't know that there's any kind of secret sauce when it comes to continually getting better throughout the season," Forchtner explained. "I think we spend more time together off the court than other teams. Some of that is built into NMMI as a military school, but it's also something we work on. Trust and chemistry is very important and our group is tight."
The Broncos' counterpart from the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference is back-to-back league champs the 12th-ranked Weatherford Coyotes. The tournament host school has an impressive record with plenty of ranked wins, same as the Institute.
An avid gambler would bet on the Coyotes and Broncos meeting Friday night for the Region V crown and a ticket to nationals in Kansas.
But anything can happen, and the top two squads will advance to the NJCAA Championships in Hutchinson, meaning two very familiar foes could face each other again on the biggest stage.
"Odessa is on the same side of the bracket with us and it's tough to beat someone three times," Forchtner said. "And even if we beat them, they could earn the second bid and we could play them again in Kansas. It's a tough league and the North has tough teams as well. The winner of this tournament should have as good a chance as anyone in Kansas."
The Broncos have been to nationals eight times since 2013, with their highest finish coming in 2021 when they narrowly lost to Iowa Western in the championship match. Last year's squad lost their opening contest, but rebounded to win three-straight and finish ninth in the country.
NMMI will play the first match of the Region V Tournament at 9 a.m. Thursday against Vernon College. The Broncos downed the Chaps 3-1 back on Aug. 25 during the NMMI Classic.