Thursday

UJ Men’s Volleyball

Jamestown def  Ottawa University 25-11,25-22,25-20

UJ Recap

Samuel Jackman (SO/St. Jean Baptiste, Manitoba) and Derek Owens (FR/Andover, Minn.) provided much of the heavy lifting for the sixth-ranked University of Jamestown men’s volleyball team Thursday night as the Jimmies defeated Ottawa (Kan.) 3-0 at Harold Newman Arena. Set scores were 25-11, 25-22, and 25-20.

Jackman had 12 kills and hit .556 for the match while Owens finished with 10 kills and no errors, hitting .769 on 13 attempts.

UJ and Ottawa were meeting for the third time in the last eight matches, with one more matchup still to be played tomorrow night. Despite seeing the Braves so often in such a short amount of time, the Jimmies were ready for any strategic changes thrown their way.

“The first time we played them, they ran with a 6-2, but they didn’t sub in any of their smaller (defensive specialists),” Jackman said. They just kinda left the game and whatever happened, happened. The next time we played them, they completely switched it up, and we beat them in three. Then this game, they switched again. The (UJ) coaches put up a perfect scouting report for tonight, and we just adapted.”

Owens put three balls to the floor early on, staking the Jimmies to a 4-1 lead. Three kills by Jackman combined with a pair of Ottawa service and attack errors keyed a 7-2 run that put UJ in front 14-7. The momentum changer was string of eight straight Jimmie points that featured kills by Tanner Woods (FR/Huntington Beach, Calif.), Derek Correa (FR/Vega Baja, Puerto Rico), and two each by Jackman and Caylor Cox (FR/Helena, Mont.).

In set two, the Jimmies led 8-5 before Ottawa found some offensive consistency, and eventually went ahead 17-16. After the teams traded points, UJ reeled off five straight to switch the momentum. Back-to-back kills by Ashan Jordan brought the Braves within 24-22, but Jackman finished off the set with another kill.

Jamestown hit its lowest percentage of the match in set three, connecting on just 30 percent of its 30 attempts, but the Jimmies benefitted from some key Ottawa service and attack errors to put the match away. Two kills by Owens, another by Woods, and a service ace from Braden Neumann (JR/Costa Mesa, Calif.) had UJ at match point. Austin Jacob (FR/Houston, Texas) powered home the decisive kill to send the Jimmies to their third straight win.

Correa had 34 of Jamestown’s 38 assists and was one of three Jimmies (Cox, Neumann) with seven digs. Jacob had two of UJ’s four solo blocks.

The series continues 7 p.m. Friday night at Harold Newman Arena