SIOUX CITY, IA. (NewsDakota.com) – In what can be tabbed as nothing short of a five-set thriller, the #2 University of Jamestown women’s volleyball team defeated #4 Corban University to claim the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship.

The Jimmies, who bring home the first national title in school history, jumped out to a 1-0 match lead with a 25-21 victory in the opening set. Corban would get the better of Jamestown in sets two and three, winning 25-21 and 27-25, putting the Jimmies with its backs against the wall heading into set four.

It was a crucial block in the fourth set that changed the momentum of the match. With Jamestown up 17-16, Aleah Zieske delivered a big solo block to force a Corban timeout. The Jimmies would roll the rest of the fourth set to push the National Championship to a fifth and final decisive set.

In set five, the Jimmies erased previous service mistakes and took an 8-6 lead before switching sides. UJ got to championship points with a 14-12 lead and after a Corban kill made it 14-13, Darienne Johnson and Kalli Hegerle provided the block to win the National Championship.

LaMoure native and fifth-year senior Anna Holen had a career-high 23 kills and 35 digs to lead the Jimmies to victory. Holen was named the MVP of the National Tournament. Kalli Hegerle finished her career with a triple-double, posting 32 assists, 12 kills, and 12 digs along with a .314 attack percentage.

Junior Ellie Holen had a match-high 44 digs and was named the Defender of the Tournament. Aleah Zieske ended the night as the only other Jimmie with double-digit kills, ending with 13. Paige Oswald had 22 assists and Johnson’s nine blocks were a match-high.

Head Coach Jon Hegerle was named the Coach of the Year in the NAIA as the Jimmies wrap up the season with 18 consecutive victories and a 37-2 overall record. UJ went 7-1 in five set matches during the 2022 season.