Jimmies capture GPAC crown

The fourth-ranked University of Jamestown men's volleyball team captured the first-ever Great Plains Athletic postseason championship Saturday evening at Harold Newman Arena, defeating Ottawa (Kan.) University 3-0. Set scores were 25-12, 25-19, and 25-22.

Jamestown (20-2) receives the GPAC's automatic bid to the NAIA Men's Volleyball National Championship in Des Moines, Iowa, April 20-24.

UJ came out strong in the opening set, outhitting the Braves .360 to -.032, while making only two errors on 25 attack attempts. The Jimmies led by scores of 10-2 and 11-3, eventually stretching the lead to 11 (20-9) and 12 (23-11) before an Ottawa service error closed out the set. Tanner Woods (FR/Huntington Beach, Calif.) led the offense with four kills, followed by Samuel Jackman (SO/St. Jean Baptiste, Manitoba) with three, and Caylor Cox (FR/Helena, Mont.) with two. Austin Jacob (FR/Houston, Texas) was a dominant force at the net defensively, recording five of Jamestown's 12 block assists.

Set two was much closer as the Braves found a way to avoid UJ's block defense, improving their attack percentage to .188. Jamestown's largest lead of the set came at 16-12, but Ottawa scored back-to-back points to get within a pair. Zack Meyer (JR/Wheaton, Ill.)'s kill was the first of five of the next eight points for UJ, and a Jacob ace and Cox kill helped give the Jimmies a 2-0 match lead. Jackman posted seven kills while Meyer, Jacob, Owens, Cox, and Tanner Woods all had two.

Ottawa had leads of 13-8 and 15-12 before Jamestown began to claw its way back. After tying the set at 18, the Braves scored two straight to go up 20-18, and had another two-point lead at 21-19. A kill from Cox ignited a 5-0 run that swung the momentum the way of the Jimmies, and leading 24-22, Woods slammed home the final point to give UJ the win.

Jackman finished with 15 kills and hit .357 on 28 attempts. Woods also had double-digit kills with 10. Derek Correa (FR/Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) passed out 34 assists in helping the Jimmies hit .310 as a team. Cox and Braden Neumann (JR/Costa Mesa, Calif.) had eight digs and Jacob ended with six block assists.