VALLEY CITY, ND (NewsDakota.com, photo courtesy of VCSUVikings.com) Viking setter Sadie Hansen said the release of the new NAIA volleyball poll did not sit well with the Vikings entering play Wednesday.
“We saw the poll, and we felt like we deserve top 25, and we were receiving votes,” said Hansen, who racked up her sixth straight North Star Athletic Association Setter of the Week award after sweeps over #15 Bellevue and receiving votes Dakota State on the road last week.
If the pollsters were waiting for more, they have it.
Hansen had 39 assists, libero JayCee Richter recorded 30 digs, and four players knocked down nine kills or more, as the Vikings swept #12, and defending national champion University of Jamestown 3-0 (32-30, 25-21, 27-25) Wednesday at the W. E. Osmon Fieldhouse.
The win pushed the Vikings to 19-4 this season, and was their fifth win over a team ranked or receiving votes this season. It was also their first volleyball win over the Jimmies since 2011.
Mardi Scutchings had 10 kills, with Bailey Nelson, Emma Lucas, and Danielle Hagler each adding nine. Scutchings and Hagler added five blocks each, and reigning NSAA Attacker of the Week Motgan Freije had seven kills and five blocks.
Defensively, Delani Clark added 18 digs, Ellie Rush recorded 12 and Hansen picked up 11.
“We couldn’t have done this without everyone on the team,” said Nelson, who is playing her Covid year this season as the lone senior returning from a year ago. “We stayed together and this was a great night.”
Staying together was important in key situations. The Vikings led 24-21 in the first, only to struggle to receive serve, with two passes crossing the net into Jimmie blocks, forcing extra points.
The Vikings ultimately turned away two set point opportunities for the Jimmies before rallying for the win, side-outing Jimmie attacker Darienne Johnson the entire way through the front row in extra points. Johnson had six kills and three blocks in the first set.
The Vikings built a six-point edge in the second and forced the Jimmies to a .098 hitting percentage for the match after two sets. Valley City State would lead 17-12 in the third, as a raucous crowd began to rise in anticipation.
Jimmie head coach Jon Hegerle used a time out and addressed his team with an impassioned address to rally them.
It worked.
Leading Jimmie hitter Aleah Zieske produced her best swings of the night, on the way to a match high 13 kills, and Lexi Olson found the middle, en route to 11 kills, as the Jimmies won seven of eight rallies, taking a 19-18 lead.
The Vikings responded, again taking a 24-21 edge and earning a set point, but the Jimmirs stung the Vikings with two sets to the right pin, which Logan Sherman finished, forcing extra points for the second time.
Two momentous blocks, one by Scutchings and one by Hagler and Lucas, denied Sherman from further offense on the right side, and after Clark ran down a ball on the right boundary, Nelson sealed the night with a cross-court winner to seal the sweep.
Elle Holen played am impressive match, tallying 37 digs to lead the Jimmies defensively.
The Vikings are now 19-4, while the Jimmies fall to 16-7. The University of Jamestown plays at #9 College of St Mary, NE Saturday. The Vikings travel to Mayville State Wednesday.