Going the distance: Century edges Blue Jays in five
Having won the fourth game against Bismarck Century on Tuesday night, the Jamestown High School volleyball team clearly had momentum on its side. Century didn’t seem to care.By: Chris Aarhus, The Jamestown Sun, The Jamestown Sun
- Josie Hegerle
Having won the fourth game against Bismarck Century on Tuesday night, the Jamestown High School volleyball team clearly had momentum on its side.
Century didn’t seem to care.
The Patriots fired out of the gate with a 7-1 run en route to a 3-2 victory over the Blue Jays in West Region play at the JHS gym. Game scores were 20-25, 25-22, 27-25, 22-25 and 15-8.
“We came out in game four and played tough,” said Jamestown coach Sara Hegerle, whose team lost to an in-state school for the first time this season. “We had momentum on our side. Then, all of a sudden we walk on the court and the momentum swiftly shifts to the other side. We’ve got to handle emotions better and be more composed and disciplined.”
Century’s Hannah Larson tallied a match-high 28 kills to lead four Patriots in double-digit kills including 14 from Ashley Bohrer. The Blue Jays (3-1 West Region, 10-4 overall) had a handle on most of the Patriots (4-1, 8-2) throughout the first four games, but struggled to solve Larson, a senior middle hitter.
“Hannah has great experience; she’s a middle who’s seen the court for three years,” Century co-coach Sara Bohrer said. “She’s doing a good job after not having to be the leader for a few years. She’s taken it.
“That’s one thing we have going for us. She’s a strong middle and not a lot of teams right now have an answer for her. That’s a great area for us to hone in on.”
Hegerle said poor blocking in the middle led to Larson’s big day.
“Apparently, we need to work on middle blocking,” Hegerle said. “We got used a lot on our block.”
A pair of early timeouts from Hegerle in game 5 still wasn’t enough to stop Century, which relied less on Larson in the fifth game and utilized Bohrer, Ali Hasche and Tyler Bulawa. Hasche and Bulawa each 12 and 11 kills, respectively.
Hegerle said her team felt the pressure of the big match.
“You could see they were tensing up,” Hegerle said. “That’s the kind of pressure we have to be able to take. Game 5 against Century in your home gym is some pressure, but game 5 in WDA or to get to state — that’s gonna be a little more pressure. We need to learn how to respond to it.”
Century co-coach Jamie Zastoupil pointed to a stronger defensive effort in the fifth game.
“We (the coaches) commented all night long about their libero and their (defensive specialists) being able to dig everything up. We were kind of letting things drop. We weren’t going for it. … I think defensively our game was more in tune the fifth set.”
Jamestown looked good early on, rallying from a 7-5 deficit to take a 17-10 lead, eventually winning game 1. But Century gutted out the second game, holding off Jamestown by scoring the final three points including back-to-back kills from Larson after the Jays had managed to tie it up at 22.
The third game may have been the most exciting. Both teams went back and forth for most of the match and the Jays held a 24-22 lead. However, a serving error and two consecutive kills put Century up by one at 25-24. Jamestown tied it with a block from Addie Eamon and Rebekah Horgan, but Century closed the deal with a kill and an ace.
Though Century was never far behind, Jamestown controlled the fourth game until a kill from Century’s Jordyn Jossart tied it at 21. Two kills from Addie Eamon and another one from Siri Jystad pushed the match to the brink of five games.
Eamon finished with a team-high 20 kills and Jystad added 16. Josie Hegerle had seven kills, 30 assists, while McKayla Orr collected 47 digs.
Century 3, Jamestown 2
Jamestown 25 22 25 25 8
Century 20 25 27 22 15
Century — Kills, Hannah Larson 28, Ashley Bohrer 14, Ali Hasche 12, Tyler Bulawa 11, Jordyn Jossert 6, Katie Chase 2, Courtney Kessler 1. Assists, Shay Bense 55. Elise Baumann 2, Bulawa 1. Aces, Kessler 2. Digs, Kessler 33, Chase 16, Mikaila Wax 12, Bense 11, Baumann 7, Hasche 6, Jossart 4, Larson 4, Bohrer 3, Bulawa 1. Blocks, Larson 2, Bohrer 1.
Jamestown — Kills, Addie Eamon 20, Siri Jystad 16, Josie Hegerle 7. Assists, Hegerle 30, Rebekah Horgan 12. Blocks, Eamon 5, Jystad 2, Hegerle 2. Digs, McKayla Orr 47, Meghan Orr 22, Julina Niemeier 17.
Records: BC 4-1 West Region, 8-2 overall; Jamestown 3-1, 11-4.
Sun sports writer Chris Aarhus can be reached at (701) 952-8462 or by email at caarhus@jamestownsun.com
Tags: sports, jays, volleyball
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