UJ over Eastern Oregon NAIA Volleyball Quarterfinals

SIOUX CITY, Iowa  (UJ) —The top-ranked University of Jamestown women’s volleyball team returned to the semifinals of the NAIA National Championship, defeating No. 8 Eastern Oregon University 3-0 Thursday evening. Set scores were 25-22, 25-20, and 25-21.

The win was the 30th of the season for the Jimmies, and the 300th in the career of head coach Jon Hegerle, who has now led UJ to back-to-back 30-win seasons.

Three GPAC teams are in the final four in the tournament.

Jamestown will face Midland (Neb.) at 5 p.m. Friday in one of two semifinal matches.

Taylor Sabinash (JR/Kensal, N.D.) posted 12 kills and hit .647 on 17 attempts with only one error to lead the Jimmies. Kalli Hegerle (JR/West Fargo, N.D.) added 10 kills and hit .333 for Jamestown, which made only nine attack errors on 130 attempts.

UJ led 9-8 in the first set before EOU went on a 4-0 run to take a three-point lead. The Mountaineers stayed in front until a Hegerle kill and an attack error put the Jimmies ahead by a point. With the score 18-18, Sabinash put down back-to-back kills to force an Eastern Oregon timeout. EOU came back with the next two points to tie the set at 20, but an Anna Holen (JR/LaMoure, N.D.) kill, another Sabinash kill, and an attack error gave Jamestown a 23-20 lead. Up 24-22, the Jimmies closed out the set with a Hegerle kill for a 1-0 match lead.

The Jimmies outhit the Mountaineers .211 to .094 in the second set, with three blocks contributing to nine EOU attack errors. Holen, Hegerle, Sabinash, and Jayla Ritter (JR/Forest Lake, Minn.) all had three kills for UJ, who came back from a 10-4 deficit for a 17-14 lead. EOU got a kill from Sade Williams and used two Jimmie attack errors to draw level at 17. Unfazed, Jamestown scored the next four points, with two coming on consecutive Holen kills to make it 21-17. Cambree Scott put the next ball to the floor, ending the Jimmie run, but UJ scored four of the final six to take a 2-0 match lead.

Jamestown continued to spread the offense around in the final set, with five players recording at least two kills, led by Sabinash, who was a perfect 5-for-5 in the third. Once again the Jimmies outhit the Mountaineers, this time .341 to .214, and made only two attack errors to EOU’s six. UJ trailed 3-1 early, but gradually built up and maintained a three-point for the majority of the set. Jamestown’s largest lead came after an EOU attack error made it 20-15. Williams led a charge of four straight Mountaineer points to cut the deficit to one. A pair of costly errors, one on a serve and the other on the ensuing attack, made it 23-20. A Corina Huff (SR/Breezy Point, Minn.) kill and an EOU attack error clinched the match and a return trip to the semifinals.

Holen finished with eight kills while Ritter added seven and Huff five. Megan Gaffaney (JR/Jamestown, N.D.) (21 assists, 12 digs) and Jackie Meiklejohn (JR/Dickey, N.D.) (19 assists, 11 digs) both had double-doubles. Sydney Ellingson (SR/Langdon, N.D.) had a team-best 16 digs with Holen and Hannah Schiele (JR/Jamestown, N.D.) each adding 10. Hegerle had four block assists.