No. 2 Jimmies sweep #16 Columbia to advance to NAIA semifinals

SIOUX CITY, Iowa-- The second-ranked University of Jamestown volleyball team returned to familiar surrounding Saturday evening at the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship.

The Jimmies swept No. 16 Columbia (Mo.) 25-10, 25-18, and 25-17 to reach the national semifinals for the fourth consecutive season.

UJ will face a familar foe Monday night when they match up with GPAC rival and third-ranked Midland (Neb.), just one of two teams to get the upper hand on the Orange and Black this season. The other team, top-ranked Eastern Oregon, faces Corban (Ore.) in the Monday's first semifinal.

Anna Holen (SR/LaMoure, N.D.) had one of the most memorable games of her career, pounding home 18 kills and hitting .485 on the offensive side while adding 11 digs and three block assists on the defensive side. Holen accounted for 19.5 of the Jimmies' 63 points on the night, 6.5 more than the next closest teammate, Lexi Olson (SO/Langdon, N.D.), with 13.0.

Olson made just one error on 18 swings, hitting. 444 with nine kills. She added six total blocks, including a pair of solos, and along with Darienne Johnson (JR/Eastpointe, Mich.) (five) combined for 11 of Jamestown's 21 blocks.

Kalli Hegerle (SR/West Fargo, N.D.) (24 assists) and Paige Oswald (JR/Frazee, Minn.) (13) help direct the Jimmie offense to an overall attack percentage of .307. While the front line defense kept Columbia off balance all match long, UJ's defense on balls that got over the net was top notch as well. Ellie Holen (JR/LaMoure, N.D.) turned up 20 digs as ten different Jimmies recorded at least two digs.

After taking the first two sets with relative ease, Jamestown faced a 14-10 deficit in the third. A 5-1 run made it even at 15, and Columbia would briefly retake the lead on the next serve. A kill by Kalli Hegerle began a 9-1 run that closed out the match and sent the Jimmies on to the semifinals.