Jimmies Sweep Morningside, Clinch Third Straight GPAC Title

Posted By: Jarin Matheny
March 20, 2023 @ 6:59 am
Sports

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (jimmiepride.com)– The Jimmie men’s volleyball team captured its third straight Great Plains Athletic Conference regular-season championship on Saturday with a sweep of Morningside University. Set scores were 25-13, 25-12, 25-13.

UJ and Dordt (Iowa) entered Saturday’s action tied for the conference lead at 8-1. A win by Jamestown over Morningside and a Dordt win at Ottawa (Kan.) would crown both teams as regular season co-champions, but the Defenders would be the top seed in the GPAC posteason tournament, having won more sets (5-4) against the Jimmies in the regular season.

The Dordt-Ottawa match began just before the Jimmies finished their three-set sweep over the Mustangs, and anyone associated with UJ volleyball temporarily shifted their allegiances to the Braves. After taking Jamestown to five sets on Wednesday night at Harold Newman Arena, Ottawa successfully defended their home court with a 26-24, 25-22, 25-23 sweep of the Defenders to propel Jamestown to the outright conference championship.

The Jimmies showed no signs of lethargy in getting going against Morningside. UJ hit .556 and made only two errors on 12 attacks in the opener, then followed up with a .550 attack percentage with one error on 20 swings in set two. Jamestown saved its best for last, finishing the third set with no errors and a .727 hitting percentage on 22 attempts. Overall, the team’s .617 hitting percentage set a new match record, beating the previous mark of .552 set February 20, 2021, also at Morningside.

Oguzhan Oguz had 15 kills and hit .650, while Caylor Cox hit .632 with 12 kills. Derek Correa passed out 33 assists and had five of the Jimmies’ eight aces. Downey Huynh racked up nine digs and Tysen Myers continued to be a force up front, finishing with five total blocks, extending his streak to seven matches with at least four total blocks.

UJ and Dordt will receive a bye in the GPAC quarterfinals, which are set for March 25. Morningside will host Central Christian College (Kan.) with the winner advancing to face Dordt in the semifinals on March 29, while Ottawa hosts Kansas Wesleyan with the winner moving on to face the Jimmies in the other semifinal on March 29. The semifinal winners will play in the championship on April 1 at the site of the highest remaining seed.