It was a tough way to end the week, but Jamestown High School volleyball coach Sara Hegerle is putting things into perspective.
The Jamestown High School volleyball team fell 3-1 to Bismarck Century on Thursday in the capital city. The loss was Jamestown's first since falling to Mandan in four at Jerry Meyer Arena on Sept. 22. At 16-0, Century remains the only undefeated team in the Class A standings. Jamestown (14-3) remains second in the WDA.
"You can be disappointed because you want to win," Hegerle said. "It's OK, we'll get back tomorrow and regroup - you can't win every match. It's not the end of the world, we're going to be OK."
The Blue Jays were coming off back-to-back sweeps when they entered the Century gym. The Jays downed Bismarck St. Mary's on Monday and topped Legacy in a high-scoring three-setter on Tuesday.
JHS will be back in action on Tuesday in Mandan at 7 p.m.
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The momentum of two recent wins just wasn't enough to carry the team through their third and final match of the week.
The Pats outscored the Jays 25-11 and 25-18 to make it a two set to none match. Sophomore Logan Nissley and seniors Julia Fitterer and Hattie Fitterer gave the Jays all the heat they could handle with powerful attacks on the outside. Hegerle said the combination of fast net play and tricky sets contributed to the early point deficits.
"They run an extremely fast offense," Hegerle said of Century. "Their setters are very good and they put the ball low to the outside and it's very difficult to block those balls. You feel like you don't have enough time to get out and block and so you just don't block.
"We had a lot of one-on-ones because our blockers were just a little behind."
While the Blue Jays' blocking was out of sync for the first 50 points, senior defensive specialist Kaylee Panchot was in a groove of her own. Panchot patrolled the back row, saving a team-high of 20 balls from the hardwoods and posting a 2.24 passing average in the process. Senior outside Grace Hegerle contributed 18 more of the team's 74 pop-ups.
"I thought our defense kind of picked up the third set and that made all the difference," Hegerle said. "(The Pats) attacked the left-back and we responded well."
After the Blue Jay DSs did their job with the first contact, setter Katie Trumbauer was working to push the ball to the Blue Jays' front three hitters, and she knew just where to go - Hegerle and Ella Roaldson.
The senior duo couldn't seem to miss their shots in the third, drilling a combined 21 bullets past the Pats' libero Jocelyn Julson. The pair also threw up a pair of blocks to try and slow down attacks from Century's side of the net.
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Hegerle still leads the WDA in total kills with 165, outpacing No. 2 Julia Fitterer by at least five kills. Hegerle has tabulated an average of more than 12 kills per match. Roaldson's recent 10 and 19 kill games have catapulted her average to more than 10 kills per set. The five-foot-eight middle is currently fourth in blocking in the conference with 20.
"Those two hit the ball well," Hegerle said. "We're putting a lot of pressure on our seniors to carry a lot of the load on the offensive side and those two did a pretty good job. It's the last time that they will play and they know that."
Tuesday will be one of the last times Hegerle and Roaldson will be at the Braves' home venue.
"We need to forget about this one immediately and come out and play hard against Mandan," Hegerle said. "That is a big one and that is going to be fun."
Century 3, Jamestown 1
JHS 11 18 25 17
BC 25 25 13 25
JHS -- Kills: Hegerle 11, Roaldson 10, Hunter Petersen 7, Katie Falk 5, Haylie Hakanson 2, Annie Nabwe1. Assists: Trumbauer 31. Digs: Panchot 20, Hegerle 18, Rachel Schiele 16, Jenna Fischer 9, Trumbauer 5, Falk 3, Petersen 2, Aspyn Peterson 1. Aces: Falk, Trumbauer. Blocks: Hakanson 2, Trumbauer 2, Roaldson 1, Hegerle 1, Nabwe 1, Petersen 1.
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BC -- Stats not provided.
Records: Bismarck Century 16-0, 16-0 WDA; Jamestown 14-3, 14-3
