CASPER, Wyo. – The Blinn volleyball team's front line stepped up in a big way.

Now the Buccaneers are looking to take a big step to a national championship.

The Bucs swept Gadsden State (Ala.) Community College 25-13, 25-14, 25-16 in their opener of the NJCAA Division I Volleyball National Championship here Thursday.

"It feels amazing. I think the team worked very well together over this first match," sophomore Bruna Evangelista said. "I am very proud of all of our performances in that match."

The front line led by sophomore Karianna Castanon-Hill combined for seven blocks and shut down Gadsden State's offense the entire match –– the Cardinals hit -0.52 for the match.

The Bucs offense went off from there by pounding 40 kills, 12 from Evangelista. Four players had a hitting percentage above .500.

"In order to be successful at the national tournament we are going to have to have those numbers," coach Erin Mellinger said. "We've worked all season to play a low-error game and I think we did that for the most part against Gadsden State."

Heading into the match, Mellinger said the Bucs' game plan was to serve aggressive and play well on serve receive. Freshman Rebecca Reeve contributed two of Blinn's three aces in the match and the Bucs' committed just four errors on serve receive.

The Bucs play North Idaho College (NIC) at 8:30 p.m. Central time tonight in a quarterfinals match-up. Ninth-ranked NIC swept Arizona Western College earlier this afternoon.

With another win, it'll be another big step towards a national title.