SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Jimmie Athletics) – The most successful season in University of Jamestown athletics history came to an end Saturday as the eighth-ranked Jimmie volleyball team lost 3-1 to No. 11 Marian (Ind.) in the semifinals of the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship presented by Marriott South Sioux City Riverfront.
Jamestown ends the season with a record of 33-6, a new program record, and advanced further in the postseason than any other Jimmie team.
Marian (37-2) will face Westmont (Ca.) in the championship match Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Knights took set one by a score of 25-16. Leading 12-10, Marian ran off five straight points and eight of the next nine to open up a 20-12 advantage. Jamestown made six attack errors and was outhit .250-.082 in the set.
UJ reversed its fortune in the second set, winning 25-18 on the strength of a .311 hitting percentage. The Jimmies had only two attack errors compared to Marian’s eight.
Marian took a 2-1 match lead with a 25-20 third set victory. The Knights had 17 kills to UJ’s eight, and despite 10 attack errors, outhit the Jimmies .125-.002.
The Knights kept up their strong offensive play in closing out the match 25-20. Jamestown hit .173 with seven errors while Marian had three errors and hit .269.
Isabel Wedell (SR/Ellendale, N.D.) (14 kills, .250 hitting) and Taylor Sabinash (SO/Kensal, N.D.) (career-high 13 kills, .333 hitting) led the Jimmie offense.
Both Miranda Lowman (SR/Mandan, N.D.) (22 assists, 17 digs) and Jackie Meiklejohn (SO/Dickey, N.D.) (20 assists, 12 digs) recorded double-doubles.
Sydney Ellingson (JR/Langdon, N.D.) (24), Anna Holen (SO/LaMoure, N.D.) (22), and Hannah Schiele (SO/Jamestown, N.D.) (20) combined for 66 of UJ’s 102 digs. Corina Ruud (JR/Breezy Point, Minn.) had four total blocks, followed by Jordan Thomas (SR/Pingree, N.D.) and Britta Knudson (SR/Bismarck, N.D.) with three. Ellie Michaletz (JR/Aitkin, Minn.) had Jamestown’s only solo block.
Ellingson finished the season with 663 digs, which is the sixth-most in a single season. Knudson ended the year with 184 total blocks to lead the NAIA. That total puts her second on UJ’s single-season list. She also hit .345 this season, which is the seventh-best in program history.