Jimmies split vs. tough teams

• Sarah Becker

Sarah Becker
• Katie Zent

Katie Zent

Talk about it

The Jimmies 2-2 weekend split at the Northwestern Red Raider Classic was more a function of who they played than how.

Coach Jon Hegerle was pleased with his team’s showing against a deep and talented field in Orange City, Iowa. And with a bounce here or there, the 2-2 could easily have been a 3-1 if not 4-0.

“Big picture-wise it was a real positive weekend. We played at a really high level for the most part,” Hegerle said. “We played four really tough teams. All four matches were good matches and our girls played extremely well at times and competed very hard.”

Interestingly, going into the weekend 19th-ranked Bellevue (Neb.) and Doane (Neb.) figured to be the two toughest tests. But the Jimmies (4-2) beat both of them, while losing to Morningside (Iowa) on Friday and then fell in another 5-set marathon to Dordt (Iowa) Saturday.

“On paper, Bellevue and Doane were the teams we were most concerned about and that’s not a slight against Morningside and Dordt,” Hegerle said. “All four teams were quality teams.”

Beating the No. 19 Bruins and previously unbeaten Doane (7-1) are nice feathers in the cap for the Jimmies, who should begin to garner attention in the NAIA rankings any time now.

In the weekend wrap-up against Dordt, the Jimmies dug out of an early 2-0 hole, but seemed to run out of steam in the fifth, falling 15-11.

“You could just see it, we were on fumes,” Hegerle said. “We didn’t execute as well and weren’t as sharp, but the girls still competed really hard.”

Statistically, several Jimmies had banner weekends. Sarah Becker hit at a sparkling .356 clip with 54 kills in the four games, including a 17-spike assault on Dordt. The 6-foot-1 junior also had just 12 hitting errors and registered 16 blocks.

“She was a steady force all weekend,” Hegerle said. “When push came to shove she made things happen for us offensively.”

Senior Katie Zent had a statistically diverse weekend, as usual. She had 26 kills, 19 digs and eight blocks Saturday alone.

“Teams were keying on her, but she still did a really nice job. She was really consistent, as she typically is,” Hegerle said.

Hegerle also singled out senior Kaitlyn Rogalla, who pounded down 40 kills and had 10 blocks.

Steady defensive specialist Katie Lee also performed well. The former Fargo South Bruin had a team-leading 74 digs.

Kelsey Deragisch passed out 51 assists Saturday and freshman Kaia Buck had 43 for the Jimmies, who head to Mitchell, S.D., this coming weekend for two games on Friday and Saturday.

“There are things we need to do better and that’s one of the positive teams about playing the types of teams we did,” Hegerle said. “Some of your weaknesses get exposed and it’s our responsibility to improve in those areas.”

Red Raider Classic

At Orange City, Iowa

Saturday’s game

Jamestown College 3, Doane (Neb.) 2

Jimmies 19 25 25 18 15

Tigers 25 19 21 25 8

Jamestown College statistics

Katie Zent: 16 kills, 9 digs, 5 blocks.

Beth Segerholm: 4 digs.

Kaia Buck: 20 assists, 2 aces, 5 digs.

Emilee Schutta: 5 digs, 2 blocks.

Alex Hanson: 1 block.

Kelsey Deragisch: 27 assists, 5 digs.

Alaina Brown: 4 kills, 1 ace, 10 digs, 1 block.

Katie Lee: 1 assist, 4 aces, 22 digs.

Sarah Becker: 12 kills, 1 dig, 2 blocks.

Jana Johnson: 10 kills, 1 digs, 2 blocks.

Kaitlyn Rogalla: 12 kills, 2 digs, 4 blocks.

Dordt (Iowa) 3, Jamestown College 2

Defenders 25 25 22 15 15

Jimmies 21 20 27 25 11

Jamestown College statistics

Zent: 10 kills, 1 assist, 10 digs, 3 blocks.

Segerholm: 5 digs.

Buck: 23 assists, 5 aces, 5 digs.

Schutta: 1 kill, 12 digs, 2 blocks.

Hanson: 1 assist, 2 blocks.

Deragisch: 24 assists, 2 aces, 7 digs.

Brown: 7 kills, 7 digs.

Lee: 1 assist, 1 ace, 24 digs.

Becker: 17 kills, 2 blocks.

Johnson: 8 kills, 3 digs.

Rogalla: 12 kills, 2 blocks.

Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at dselvig@jamestownsun.com

Tags: college sports, sports, jimmies, volleyball