#2 Jimmies sweep St. Ambrose to advance to Sioux City

The second-ranked University of Jamestown volleyball team advanced to the final site of the NAIA National Championship in Sioux City, Iowa, with a sweep of St. Ambrose (Iowa) University Saturday afternoon at Harold Newman Arena.

Jamestown (32-2) will join 23 other teams at the final site beginning November 30. Pool assignments will be announced by the NAIA no later than 5 p.m. Central on naia.org.

The Jimmies used a 3-0 run to open up a 12-8 lead in set one, eventually increasing the advantage to 16-11 after a kill by Anna Holen (SR/LaMoure, N.D.). The Fighting Bees closed the gap to 16-14 before Darienne Johnson (JR/Eastpointe, Mich.)'s kill helped UJ win six of the next seven points. A kill by Lexi Olson (SO/Langdon, N.D.) and SAU attack error provided the winning points and a 1-0 match lead.

A .538 hitting percentage in the second set helped Jamestown cruise to a 25-9 win. A 12-1 run turned a five-point lead into a 16-point cushion, and the Jimmies allowed their fewest points in sets one through four this season.

After making no errors in set two, UJ committed only one in the third while hitting .542 to round out the sweep. St. Ambrose got as close as 8-5 before the Jimmies won eight of the next 10 points. Jamestown finished on a 7-1 run, capped off by Holen's match-high 12th kill of the match.

The Jimmies outhit SAU .456 to .001, with the edge in aces (9-1), digs (49-32), and total blocks (8-1).

Olson and Aleah Zieske (SO/Spicer, Minn.) both had eight kills. Olson hit .800 on ten attempts, while Holen hit .706 on 17 attempts, with neither player making an error. Kalli Hegerle (SR/West Fargo, N.D.) passed out 19 assists and Paige Oswald (JR/Frazee, Minn.) 12.

Ellie Holen (JR/LaMoure, N.D.) racked up 17 digs and Anna Holen had 11. Logan Sherman (JR/Marshall, Minn.) had five block assists while Olson and Darienne Johnson each had a solo block and three block assists.