Jimmies shake off slow start

• Kaia Buck

(John M. Steiner / The Sun) Kaia Buck had a team-leading 18 assists in the Jimmies 3-0 win over Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday night.

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The end was better than the beginning, but the result stayed the same for the Jamestown College volleyball team.

The Jimmies shook off a slow start to earn another home sweep, taking care of Dakota Wesleyan 25-20, 25-18, 25-15 Saturday night at the Hansen Center.

“We came out a little flat. We kind of had to create our own energy, but we were able to get it going,” said senior defensive specialist Katie Lee. “You don’t want to give your opponent hope that they can win. We kind of did that (tonight). … We picked it up and got back to playing like we normally do.”

Dakota Wesleyan was without a couple key players and hung with the Jimmies early in a competitive first set. The second was more of the same, but the Jimmie block began to really pick up and was evident in a dominant third set triumph.

“I didn’t think we played with much energy and fire until about midway through the match and that was disappointing,” coach Jon Hegerle said. “We were pretty inconsistent early, and give Dakota Wesleyan credit. They were aggressive and played well.”

The major takeaway in the win for the Jimmies, their 15th triumph in 18 matches, was a resurgent block, which has been hit and miss this season.

“We haven’t blocked as well this year compared to last year and it’s a lot of the same players we had last year,” Hegerle said. “That’s something that’s been a concern for us and we’ve worked on it and tonight was one of our better blocking matches of the season.”

Kaitlyn Rogalla led the charge with seven blocks. Alex Hanson added four. The former Blue Jay also had a nice match on the attack with a team-high 10 kills.

“I thought Alex played very well. … She brought a lot of energy and did a nice job,” Hegerle said.

Lee had 16 more digs and two aces in the win as the Jimmies improved to 4-0 inside the Hansen Center, which was warm for the second straight night as the summery temps heated up the venerable old building.

“We always want to play well on our home court in front of your fans,” Lee said. “We’ve done a pretty good job of that and hopefully it continues.”

The Jimmies head out on the road this week, playing at Mayville State Wednesday before a road trip to Dakota Wesleyan Friday and Northwestern (Iowa) Saturday.

Jamestown College 3, Dakota Wesleyan

Tigers 20 18 15

Jimmies 25 25 25

Jamestown College statistics

Kelsey Deragisch: 2 kills, 15 assists, 3 aces, 3 digs.

Kaitlyn Rogalla: 6 kills, 1 dig, 7 blocks.

Janna Johnson: 4 kills, 2 digs, 3 blocks.

Katie Zent: 4 kills, 7 digs, 1 block.

Emilee Schutta: 1 kill, 1 dig, 2 blocks.

Katie Lee: 1 kill, 2 assists, 2 aces, 16 digs.

Beth Segerholm: 5 digs.

Kaia Buck: 18 assists, 1 ace.

Alex Hanson: 10 kills, 5 digs, 4 blocks.

Amanda Kramer: 1 dig.

Sarah Becker: 9 kills, 3 blocks.

Kaitlyn Bollingberg: 3 kills, 1 assist, 1 block.

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

Tags: college sports, volleyball, jimmies, sports