September 27, 2014

Photos credits by Kaden Huntrods

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

MADISON, S.D. – A battle for North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) supremacy, featuring nationally-ranked Jamestown (N.D.) and Dakota State (S.D.), took place at DSU Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon.  The Jimmies cruised to a 2-0 early lead before the Trojans rallied back for the third set victory.  UJ was able to close out the match with a thrilling fourth set to earn a 3-1 victory over DSU.

Dakota State dropped their overall record 13-7 and 2-1 in NSAA conference play.  Jamestown, ranked No. 24 (tie) in the latest NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, won their seventh straight match to raise their overall record to 12-4 and 4-0 in NSAA conference.

The Jimmies hit .414 in the opening set to earn a 25-15 victory over the Trojans.  UJ had 15 kills with 3 errors in 29 attempts, while DSU recorded .130 hitting efficiency (7 kills with 4 errors in 23 attempts).

The second set was similar to the first set as UJ earned a 25-16 victory, including a 6-0 scoring run to close the second set.  Jamestown outhit Dakota State 18-7 in the set as UJ's match lead grew to 2-0.

UJ hit .397 through two sets (33 kills with 8 errors in 63 attempts) compared to DSU .109 hitting percentage (14 kills with 8 errors in 32 attempts).

Tied at 22-22 in the third set, the Trojans outscored the Jimmies 3-1 to seal the third set 25-22 and extended the match into fourth set.  DSU's final three points of the third set came from three different hitters – Caitlin Pick, Kylie Martin and Brittney Anderson.

A total of 21 ties were featured in the third set.  Both teams smashed 15 kills while the Trojans hit .303.  UJ was held to .216.

Trailing 10-9 in the fourth set, Dakota State scored six straight points to grab a 15-10 lead.  Jamestown answered back with a 13-8 scoring run to tie the fourth set at 23-23. 

From there, a total of eight ties were recorded.  Tied at 31-31, the Jimmies scored the final two points (33-31) with a kill from Kaitlyn Bollingberg and Heather Bachman to seal the match with a 3-1 victory.

A combined 41 kills were recorded in the fourth set – 24 by Jamestown and 17 by Dakota State.  A total of 25 ties occurred in the fourth set.

Dakota State was led by Pick with 11 kills and hit .320 in the match.  Tessa Weeldreyer added 10 kills.  Carly Rozell had eight kills.  Anderson had seven kills.  Martin recorded six kills.

Kaylee Vander Wal registered 19 set assists for the Trojans.  Stacey Westby added 16 assists. 

Four players recorded in double digits for DSU.  Katherine Gonzalez had 17 digs.  Anderson and Allison Thielsen each added 11 digs.  Chelsey Davis earned 10 digs.

Gonzalez had two service aces for DSU.  Weeldreyer and Westby each had a service ace.

Naomi Walther had 18 kills and hit .586 in the match for the Jimmies. Alaina Brown added 17 kills and recorded .432 hitting percentage.  Janna Johnson earned 14 kills.

Kaia Buck produced 31 assists for UJ.  Aubrey Beaumont added 26 assists. 

Amanda Kramer had a match-high 24 digs for Jamestown.  Siri Jystad added 13 digs.  Brown and Beaumont each had 12 digs.  Elise Peterson had 10 digs.

Peterson and Beaumont recorded two service aces for the Jimmies.  Brown, Walther and Kramer each added a service ace.

Walther tallied 2.5 blocks (5 total block assists) for UJ.  Madison Wendel added four block assists (2 total blocks).

Jamestown outhit Dakota State 72-46 in the match.  The Jimmies hit .309 (21 errors in 165 attempts) compared to the Trojans' .184 (19 errors in 147 attempts).

DSU recorded a service percentage of .932 with four service aces and six service errors.  UJ was .876 from the serving line, recording seven service aces and 13 service errors.

Jamestown had 78 digs, while Dakota State had 64 digs.  UJ earned eight team blocks compared to DSU's three team blocks.

The Jimmies won the junior varsity match in three straight sets over the Trojans.

Dakota State looks to bounce back in the winning column as they kick off their four-game stretch on the road, starting on Tuesday evening.  The Trojans travel to Cimpl Arena in Yankton, S.D. to take on in-state rival Mount Marty (S.D.) in a non-conference match.  There will be a junior varsity match at 6 p.m. with the varsity match to follow at 7:30 p.m.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director

Photos from junior varsity action