JAMESTOWN – Jamestown Jimmie Volleyball began Saturday with smiles and hope.  Their postseason ended with stunned responses, and in some cases, tears.

Coming from two sets-to-none down, William Carey upset Jamestown in an NAIA Women’s Volleyball Championship Opening Round match at Harold Newman Arena, 15-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19, 15-8.

Freshman Brazilian hitter Suelen Lima made big plays offensively and defensively to help the rally for William Carey (29-9), with 19 kills (.286), 18 digs, six block assists, an ace, and a set assist.  Elaina Anderson had 16 kills (.414), two solo blocks, five block assists and a dig.  Sofia Bettini had eight kills and 14 digs, with an ace, two block assists and a set assist.  Katarina Vulic had 44 set assists, 10 digs and an ace.  Marcella Hermont had 19 digs and Kayla Benedic had 14.

Aleah Zieske led Jamestown (22-3) with 18 kills, four aces, a solo block, a block assist and a set assist.  Charlee Krieg and Lexi Olson had eight kills each.  Charlotte Lempka and Karlie Anderson each had seven kills.  Ellie Holen had 29 digs and ended her UJ career with 2,933, the most in program history.  Tenley Buddenhagen had 25 set assists and Lily Bertsch had 21.

William Carey hit .153.  Jamestown, who hit at a .241 rate before the match, was held to .103 and had a season-high 35 attack errors.

After William Carey led 12-10 in the first set, Jamestown scored 15 of the last 18 points.  Zieske had a kill and two aces and Adamson had a kill as Jamestown scored six straight for a 16-12 lead.  UJ led 18-15 before scoring the last seven points of the set on a kill by Lempka, an attack error, another Lempka kill, two kills by Zieske and two more attack errors.

The Jimmies broke an 8-8 tie in the second set with five straight points on a kill and an ace by Zieske, a kill by Krieg, an attack error, a kill by Olson, and another attack error.  Jamestown later led 16-13 before a 5-1 run, including kills by Lempka and Zieske.  A Zieske kill at 24-18 gave Jamestown set points, but William Carey saved four of them, all on Jimmie attack errors, before Olson killed to give Jamestown a 2-0 advantage.

That struggle at the end of the second set turned out to portend more trouble ahead for Jamestown.  In the third set, the Jimmies led 16-14 before William Carey had a 9-1 run which included three kills by Elaina Anderson and two by Lima.  Another Elaina Anderson kill gave the Crusaders set point before the Jimmies saved two.  Then, an attack error gave WCU the third set.

UJ would never lead again in the match.

Lima had three kills as William Carey started the fourth set leading 8-3.  Jamestown was within 15-12 after an ace by Bertsch.  Lima killed three more times in the remainder of the set and Bettini ended it with a kill to force a fifth set.

That last set was even at 4-4 before William Carey scored six points in a row.  Elaina Anderson had three kills in that run and Hermont served an ace.  An ace by Grace Hegerle for Jamestown cut the WCU lead to 12-8, but the Crusaders closed out the upset with a kill by Lima, an attack error and a kill by Barbara Guedes.

This loss was the first in an NAIA Opening Round match for the Jimmies after five wins.  It ended Jamestown’s time as an NAIA women’s volleyball member.  Next season, the Jimmies will play in the NSIC and in NCAA Division II.