Blue Jays go 2-2 in Day 1

The Jamestown volleyball got a wake-up call on busy opening-round day at the Fargo Invitational on Friday in the Fargo.

The Blue Jays, after winning its fifth-straight match on Thursday in Jamestown, dropped their first two matches of the tournament before closing out the day with a pair of wins to finish the day 2-2.

"I didn't feel like we were prepared to play," said JHS coach Sara Hegerle. "We kind of walked on the floor at the very beginning and I knew right away they weren't ready."

Jamestown fell to West Fargo in consecutive sets, 25-15, 25-13 before Fargo North swept the Blue Jays 25-14, 25-15.

"The first person the kids saw was a kid from North, and the kids tensed up," said Hegerle. "Knowing we had to play (North) the second match of the day, I think they were already afraid.

"You can't be afraid of any team, because any team is beatable -- including us."

Jamestown swept the Packers in two sets earlier this season, so Hegerle said they may have overlooked their opening-round opponent.

"I think we took West Fargo a little lightly," the first-year Blue Jays' head coach said. "We played them earlier and we beat them in two, but they have improved their game tremendously and we did not respond very well to it."

The Blue Jays (13-8) got back on track in the final two matches by defeating the Fargo North JV team 25-19, 25-12 and following up with a 25-17, 25-21 win over Wahpeton.

"I feel like we ended on a good note," Hegerle said. "We talked about having energy and confidence on the court. ... I thought we did a nice job of recovering."

Siri Jystad led the offense with 18 kills in the first day, while Kayla Thoele pounded down 11 and Steph Kropp and Katie Ramlo each had 10. Addie Eamon wasn't her usual self as she finished with just five kills.

Jystad also paced the Blue Jays with 11 blocks and Eamon followed with eight.

McKayla Orr dug up 40 balls over four matches and recorded three aces from the service line.

Fargo Tournament

Jamestown 15 13

West Fargo 25 25

Jamestown 14 15

Fargo North 25 25

Jamestown 25 25

Fargo North JV 19 12

Jamestown 25 25

Wahpeton 17 21

JHS individual statistics

Kills, Siri Jystad 18, Kayla Thoele 11, Steph Kropp 10, Katie Ramlo 10, Josie Hegerle 7, Addie Eamon 5. Digs, McKayla Orr 40, Kropp 20, Thoele 15, Hegerle 14, Ramlo 12. Aces, Kropp 3, Orr 3, Hegerle 2, Ramlo 1, Thoele 1. Blocks, Jystad 11, Eamon 8, Kropp 5, Ramlo 5, Hegerle 3. Assists, Ramlo 29, Hegerle 26.