Blue Jays bounce back: JHS faces Shanley for fifth today
Siri Jystad knows how quickly momentum can shift, and on Friday afternoon, it was as fickle as ever. In an opening game that featured 13 ties and eight lead changes, the Jamestown High School senior pounded out five of her game-high 11 kills including a game-winning block with sophomore Jenna Stilwell to sweep Bismarck High 32-30, 25-8, 25-18 in Class A state tournament consolation action Friday afternoon at the Minot State University Dome.By: By Chris Aarhus, The Jamestown Sun, The Jamestown Sun
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MINOT — Siri Jystad knows how quickly momentum can shift, and on Friday afternoon, it was as fickle as ever.
In an opening game that featured 13 ties and eight lead changes, the Jamestown High School senior pounded out five of her game-high 11 kills including a game-winning block with sophomore Jenna Stilwell to sweep Bismarck High 32-30, 25-8, 25-18 in Class A state tournament consolation action Friday afternoon at the Minot State University Dome.
“It was really exciting,” Jystad said of the first game. “We wanted to finish that out. Those games are tough to win; those points come hard.”
Not surprisingly, the game 1 win swung momentum firmly in Jamestown’s favor the rest of the match.
The Blue Jays led from start to finish in the second game and scored the final six points in game 3 to earn a spot in today’s fifth-place match against Fargo Shanley, set for noon. A win would give Jamestown its highest finish at state, as it took sixth (1999) and eighth (2001) in its only two trips. The Jays beat Shanley 2-1 at a tournament earlier this season.
“It’s a huge motivation,” Jamestown coach Sara Hegerle said. “The kids have done so much work in the last few years. They deserve to be in the top five. I’m really proud of them.”
Thursday’s 3-0 opening-round loss to West Fargo didn’t seem to have much effect on the Blue Jays. Hegerle said she spoke about the season as a whole prior to the match.
“Everything we’ve done up until this point is not wasted,” she said. “The season isn’t defined by “what happened (Thursday) or by what happened against Century in the region final.
“I’ve had a number of people come up to me and ask me what happened (against West Fargo). We played a good West Fargo team and we didn’t play well. That’s what happens in competition.”
There was no opening-round hangover for the Blue Jays, though, who swept the Demons for the third time this season.
“I think that (the loss) gave us more motivation to win today,” Jystad said. “We’ve played BHS many times before. I think we knew what they could do.”
Jamestown started the match on a roll, jumping out to an 11-1 lead, capped by a Billie Buchanan kill and a Bismarck hitting error. But the Demons responded with a 14-4 run that tied the game. From there, game 1 never saw a three-point deficit.
The two teams traded blows the rest of the way, and Jamestown found itself at game point after Jystad pounded down a kill for a 24-23 lead. It was one of five game points the Blue Jays didn’t capitalize on. Bismarck had two.
But the sixth game point proved to be the winner after junior Addie Eamon helped the Blue Jays take a one-point advantage with a block at the net. Jystad and Stilwell converted on the block on the next point to seal it.
“I think it would have been a nightmare (to lose game 1),” Hegerle said. “You saw what happened to (Bismarck) in game 2. ... For us to win that was a big deal for this match.”
Josie Hegerle provided a boost, posting five aces, four kills and 17 assists. Eamon finished with six kills and four blocks and McKayla Orr added 15 digs.
“I didn’t know what was gonna happen today,” Sara Hegerle said. “They really fought hard. They really responded from a tough loss.”
Jamestown 3, Bismarck High 0
Bismarck 30 8 18
Jamestown 32 25 25
Bismarck — Kills, Ashley Hilzendeger 10, Naomi Rust 8, Morgan Miller 7. Assists, McKenzie Kiefer 21. Aces, Alison Fischer 2, Kiefer 2. Blocks, Hilzendeger 2. Digs, Kiefer 14, Fisher 13, Karli Sanders 12, Hilzendeger 7.
Jamestown — Kills, Jystad 11, Addie Eamon 6, Billie Buchanan 6, Josie Hegerle 4, Jenna Stilwell 3, McKayla Keller 3, Hannah Heilman 1. Assists, Hegerle 17, Rebekah Horgan 14. Aces, Hegerle 5, Meghan Orr 2, McKayla Orr 1, Jystad 1, Julina Niemeier 1. Blocks, Eamon 4, Stilwell 2. Digs, McKayla Orr 15, Meghan Orr 5, Niemeier 5, Horgan 5.
Sun sportswriter Chris Aarhus can be reached at (701) 952-8462 or by email at caarhus@jamestownsun.com
Tags: sports, jays, volleyball
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