No. 2 Jimmies Take GPAC Title With Win at No. 9 DWU

Posted By: Jarin Matheny
November 2, 2022 @ 7:00 am
Sports

From Jimmie Athletics

MITCHELL, S.D. (jimmiepride.com) — The second-ranked University of Jamestown volleyball team won the GPAC regular season championship with a four-set win over No. 9 Dakota Wesleyan University Tuesday evening.

Jamestown finishes the conference schedule with a record of 15-1 and improves to 28-2 overall. UJ will be the top seed in the GPAC postseason tournament, taking on eighth-seeded Dordt (Iowa) University Saturday at 7 p.m.

Trailing 23-21 in the first set, the Jimmies called their second timeout, and the break proved to be beneficial. Darienne Johnson (JR/Eastpointe, Mich.) and Lexi Olson (SO/Langdon, N.D.) recorded back-to-back kills to pull UJ even at 23-23, and the Tigers used their second timeout. Out of the timeout, DWU went ahead 24-23, but a set error and kills by Anna Holen (SR/LaMoure, N.D.) and Aleah Zieske (SO/Spicer, Minn.) gave Jamestown the 26-24 win.

The Tigers took control of set two, building a 19-9 lead. UJ scored the next eight points to pull within two, only to have DWU take the next three points. A 5-1 Jimmie run made it a one-point Tiger lead, but consecutive kills gave the set to the home side.

Jamestown led 13-12 in the third set and used a 4-0 run to build a five-point edge on the way to a 25-21 set win. After the Tigers got as close as 22-20, Logan Sherman (JR/Marshall, Minn.)’s second kill of the set and two more from Holen sealed the deal for UJ.

A 6-0 fourth-set run turned a four-point deficit into a two-point edge, and the Jimmies never looked back in clinching the match with a 25-19 win. Jamestown had 18 kills in the final set and outhit the Tigers .351 to .152.

Holen paced UJ’s offense with 20 kills and added 12 digs on defense. Olson and Sherman finished with 10 kills each, while Johnson and Kalli Hegerle (SR/West Fargo, N.D.) both had nine.

Hegerle passed out 35 assists and Paige Oswald (JR/Frazee, Minn.) 19 in helping Jamestown hit .324 for the match. Defensively, Ellie Holen (JR/LaMoure, N.D.) recorded 28 digs and Johnson was credited with five block assists.