JAMESTOWN, N.D. (JimmiePride.com) – The top-ranked University of Jamestown women’s volleyball team advanced to the semifinals of the GPAC postseason tournament, sweeping Morningside (Iowa) College Saturday afternoon at Harold Newman Arena.
Set scores were 25-20, 25-15, and 25-16.
Jamestown (24-1) will host Midland (Neb.) Wednesday at 7 p.m. The other semifinal match features Concordia (Neb.) at Northwestern (Iowa).
Morningside took the early momentum in the opening set, leading 12-7 after a streak of five straight points. UJ responded with five straight points of their own to tie the set, then won six of the next eight to go ahead 18-14. Anna Holen (JR/LaMoure, N.D.), Kadyn Mehring (SO/Carrington, N.D.), Taylor Sabinash (JR/Kensal, N.D.), and Kalli Hegerle (JR/West Fargo, N.D.) each had three kills in the opener, and Jayla Ritter (JR/Forest Lake, Minn.) added a pair for the Jimmies, who hit .268 in set one. Four UJ service errors aided the Mustangs, who hit just .079 on 38 attempts.
Hegerle and Corina Huff (SR/Breezy Point, Minn.) were the main offensive threats for Jamestown in the second set, with both players slamming four balls to the floor. Holen and Ritter had two kills each, helping the Jimmies hit .333 for the set. UJ made just two attack errors in taking an 8-2 lead early on. Following a Nicole Schmitz (FR/Oakes, N.D.) kill, Jamestown took its largest lead of the set at 21-12.
An 8-3 lead in set three quickly turned into a commanding 15-3 edge for the Jimmies. Jamestown led by as much as 20-7 before Morningside won nine of the final 14 points to avoid a double-digit loss. Once again UJ committed only two attack errors on the way to a .387 hitting percentage in the set. Holen led the way with five kills, followed by Ritter with three and Mehring, Huff, and Sabinash with two each.
Jackie Meiklejohn (JR/Dickey, N.D.) (24 assists, 11 digs) and Holen (10 kills, 12 digs) posted double-doubles. Sydney Ellingson (SR/Langdon, N.D.) had 19 digs, with Hannah Schiele (JR/Jamestown, N.D.) also in double figures with 11. Megan Gaffaney (JR/Jamestown, N.D.) added 13 assists.
It was the sixth straight win over the Mustangs for the Jimmies, who have dropped just one of 19 sets during the streak.