Jimmies Volleyball Season Over, Midland Wins 3-1

SIOUX CITY, Iowa  (UJ)  —The University of Jamestown women’s volleyball team had their season come to a close Friday in the semifinals of the NAIA National Championship, losing 3-1 to Midland (Neb.) University. Set scores were 25-21, 24-26, 28-30, and 12-25.

The Jimmies never trailed in set one, taking an 8-4 lead that eventually turned into 16-11 after a Warrior attack error. Midland rallied to tie the set at 18 and then again at 20, but back-to-back attack errors gave UJ a 22-20 lead. Kalli Hegerle (JR/West Fargo, N.D.)’s kill made it 23-21, and consecutive Midland hitting errors clinched set one for Jamestown.

In set two, Jamestown led 19-14 after a kill by Corina Huff (SR/Breezy Point, Minn.), capping off a 3-0 run. The Warriors continued to hang around, eventually closing the gap to 20-19 after reeling off five of six points. After a Midland service error made it 23-20 Jimmies, the Warriors rebounded with two straight. Anna Holen (JR/LaMoure, N.D.)’s kill put UJ at match point, only to have kills by Taliyah Flores and Sydney Morehouse tied it at 24. Jamestown then made two attack errors to give Midland the second set.

UJ raced out to an 8-2 lead in the third set, and appeared to have the Warriors on the ropes. Midland maintained their confidence and came back to tie the set at 16 on a Flores ace, then took their first lead of the set after a Jimmie attack error. Down 20-18, Jamestown got kills from Nicole Schmitz (FR/Oakes, N.D.), Huff, and Megan Gaffaney (JR/Jamestown, N.D.) on three straight plays, and a Midland hitting error made it 22-20 Jimmies. The Warriors countered with a 4-0 run to retake a two-point lead, but back-to-back Hegerle kills drew UJ level at 24. The teams traded points until 28-28, and a Jimmie service error and hitting error gave Midland a 2-1 match lead.

Midland opened set four with the first four points, and raced out to a commanding 15-5 lead. A Huff kill ended a streak of five straight Warrior points, but Jamestown could not get their offense on track. The Jimmies made nine attack errors against eight kills and hit -.032 in the fourth. Meanwhile, Midland made only three errors and hit .318. Five of the Warriors’ final eight points came via UJ errors.

Holen led UJ with 12 kills followed by Hegerle with 11, while Schmitz finished with nine. Jackie Meiklejohn (JR/Dickey, N.D.) passed out 21 assists and had eight digs and Megan Gaffaney added 20 assists.  Holen and Sydney Ellingson (SR/Langdon, N.D.) both had 22 digs. Jayla Ritter (JR/Forest Lake, Minn.) had nine total blocks, with Hegerle adding five and Huff and Taylor Sabinash (JR/Kensal, N.D.) with four each.

Jamestown reached the national semifinals for the second straight season, and end the season with a record of 30-2.