No. 2 Jimmies take down No. 13 Montana Tech in five

GREAT FALLS, Mont.-- The second-ranked University of Jamestown volleyball team won its fourth straight match, defeating No. 13 Montana Tech in five sets Thursday at the Electric City Invite. Set scores were 25-23, 19-25, 18-25, 27-25, 15-11.

Jamestown improves to 4-1 on the season while Montana Tech falls to 3-2.

In a matchup of two top-15 NAIA teams, it was the Jimmies taking a 25-23 win in the opener, coming back from a 16-8 deficit midway through the set.

The Orediggers hit only .079 in set two, but held UJ to .044 in evening the match with a 25-19 win. Jamestown struggled again offensively, finishing with a .105 hitting percentage in the third, while on the other side of the net, Montana Tech was error-free and hit .357 to go ahead 2-1 in the match.

UJ forced a decisive fifth set after a grueling 27-25 fourth set win. The Jimmies' biggest lead was 9-6, while Montana Tech's largest lead was also three, at 14-11. The teams battled back and forth, trading the lead 10 times before a pair of Aleah Zieske (SO/Spicer, Minn.) kills and an Oredigger attack error clinched the set for Jamestown.

The Jimmies' best attack percentage of the night came in the fifth as they raced out to a 10-5 lead and outhit Montana Tech .222 to .148. The Orediggers closed with a pair at 13-11, but a Kalli Hegerle (SR/West Fargo, N.D.) kills and Montana Tech attack error were the winning points for UJ.

Zieske led Jamestown with 15 kills and was joined in double figures by Anna Holen (SR/LaMoure, N.D.) with 12 and Hegerle with 10. Paige Oswald (JR/Frazee, Minn.) passed out 28 assists while Hegerle finished with 22.

Ellie Holen (JR/LaMoure, N.D.) racked up 36 digs, followed by Anna Holen with 28 and Grace Hegerle (SO/Jamestown, N.D.) with 16. Lexi Olson (SO/Langdon, N.D.) had five total blocks.

Jamestown returns to action Friday against Arizona Christian University at 2 p.m. and University of Providence at 8 p.m.