Posted: Nov 09, 2023
By MIKE MONTFORT
BAYTOWN -- Six members of coach Ariel Apolinario's Navarro Volleyball team were named in some capacity to the Region XIV All-Conference squad.
Sophomore Co-Player of The Year Hanna Tylska joined Kalina Pylinska and Alessandra Pantoja on the first-team.
Freshmen Khaya Gordon and Gabriela Smolenska were selected as second-teamers.
And sophomore Alyssa Rojo completed the cast as an honorable-mention pick.
Tylska, Pylinska and Pantoja rank among the NJCAA's Top 25 in service aces. Together, they account for 245 of Navarro's program-record, NJCAA-leading 411 aces through 34 matches. Tylska and Pylinska, each with 33 career double-doubles, enter the national tournament ranked among NJCAA Top 30s in seven statistical categories: total kills, aces, points and their per-set listings.
Heading into the NJCAA Tournament, the two-year totals that Tylska and Pylinska have created are breathtaking. Tylska has 951 kills, 222 service aces and 1,210 points; Pylinska, 799 kills, 151 service aces and 1000.5 points.
Gordon and Smolenska not only form part of Navarro's blocking wall, but they rank 3-4 on the club in points with more than 200 for the season. They lead the team in block-assists and total blocks. Smolenska has three matches of seven-plus blocks and Gordon has a pair of six-plus-blocking matches. Gordon has a personal-best 17 kills in a match win over Blinn.
Rojo has five matches of 20-plus digs during 2023, with a high of 25 against the Buccaneers. In two Navarro seasons, she has 787 digs, 82 assists and 47 service aces.
