UJ Men’s Volleyball over Ottawa, Kans. Thurs.

OTTAWA, Kan.  (UJ)  — The seventh-ranked University of Jamestown men’s volleyball team returned to action Thursday night, defeated No. 15 Ottawa University 3-1 in the Jimmies’ GPAC opener. Set scores were 25-27, 25-12, 28-26, 25-18.

Jamestown improves to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the GPAC, while Ottawa falls to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

Zack Meyer (JR/Wheaton, Ill.) finished with 17 kills and hit .481 in the match while Tanner Woods (FR/Huntington Beach, Calif.) posted 12 kills and Samuel Jackman (SO/St. Jean Baptiste, Manitoba) 11. Derek Owens (FR/Andover, Minn.) had a team-high .556 hitting percentage with seven kills. Clark Steele (JR/Lake Forest, Calif.) also chipped in with seven kills.

Derek Correa (FR/Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) (26) and Caylor Cox (FR/Helena, Mont.) (20) combined for 46 of UJ’s 54 assists, helping the team hit .364 for the match. Woods led the Jimmies with nine digs, while Braden Neumann (JR/Costa Mesa, Calif.) added eight and Correa seven.

Owens, Woods, and Austin Jacob (FR/Houston, Texas) each had three block assists.

After falling behind 11-6 in the first set, UJ rallied to take a 22-20 lead, and later led 23-21. The Braves tied the set at 23, then the teams traded points until an Ottawa kill and Jimmie attack error closed out the set.

The second set was all Jamestown, as the Jimmies took an early 7-3 lead and used a 7-0 run midway through the set to go ahead 21-11. A UJ ball handling error ended the run, but a kill by Ever Cancel (FR/Mayaguez, Puerto Rico), back-to-back Ottawa attack errors, and a Meyer kill provided the final points.

Set three was contested as closely as the first, with the largest Jimmie lead coming at 16-12. Ottawa came back for a 23-22 advantage, but a service ace by Cox tied it, then the teams swapped points up to 26. A Steele kill and Correa ace were the winning points of the set.

UJ opened up a 14-8 lead in the fourth set before the Braves closed the gap to 14-12. The Jimmie lead grew to as many as six following two Ottawa attack errors, and kills by Woods, Meyer, and Jackman were part of the final five points to win the match.

Jamestown returns to action Friday at Morningside (Iowa) College. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.