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DICKINSON — Whatever Edie Hegerle ate Thursday seemed to give her a little extra oomph from the back line.
The sophomore setter for the Jamestown High School volleyball team might not have had any kills in her stat line, but five aces proved she was not to be messed with.
The Blue Jays defeated Minot 3-1 in the opening round of the WDA tourney Thursday evening. Jamestown will go on to face Legacy in the semifinals Friday at 8 p.m. The Jays and Sabers split during the regular season.
The Jays took charge early on and before long they had established a 24-13 lead in the opening set. Unphased, the Majettes kept pushing and managed to put together a 4-0 lead before Makenna Nold powered one just past the 10-foot line to end it 25-17.
While the Jays' offense was responsible for racking up a good portion of the team's points, Jamestown was once again patient and responsible on defense, taking advantage of serves launched long and kills that missed the court lines.
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Kinley Anderson's five blocks up front helped to keep the Majettes' hitting forces, mainly Zoe Zarr, in check while Aspyn Peterson was the anchor in the back row. Peterson was a busy bee in the back third, popping up 23 digs.
Nold and Bernadette Newman each recorded a pair of blocks at the net.
"The Blue Jays started with a lot of fire and confidence," head coach Sara Hegerle said. "The first set was exactly the style of volleyball we want to be playing."
Minot took the first two points of the second set but Jamestown responded with a 6-2 run to retake control.
The Jays found themselves leading 7-11 before a trio of aces from Grace Sanders, a rotation fault and a two-hit call gave Minot a 12-11 lead and Coach Hegerle was forced to take her first timeout of the night.
A net violation on the Majettes gave the Jays the sideout they needed but Minot got right back in it and before long, the score read 19-12 Minot.
Even on the Jays' well-executioned offensive plays, Sanders proved more than capable of remaining steady and defending the Majettes' backcourt. Jamestown pitched a 3-0 run to make it 21-17 but it did nothing to alleviate the pressure coming from Minot's side of the ball.
A final kill that escaped the Jays' defenses ended it 25-19 Majettes.
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"In set two we had a string of bad plays- and we fell apart but what I’ve seen in this team all season are resiliency and fight," Hegerle said.
Just because the regular season is finished, doesn't mean the Jays are done fighting.
The Jays had a 22-19 lead late but Minot regained possession and the two teams were soon within one of each other. A kill on the Jays' outside gave them a two-to-one set lead.
Newman was the Jays' leading attacker notching 16 kills while Haylie Hakanson managed to use her athletic abilities to spin 12 hits past Minot's blockers and defensive specialists.
Jamestown led the fourth 20-16 and with the exception of a couple of points, they remained in control for the last five points. Newman powered one to the middle of the court to give the Jays the quarterfinal victory.
When the ball wasn't passed out to Newman or Hakanson, Nold was the third-leading attacker with eight kills while Benet Fronk delivered seven bombs on the outside.
"We have those moments of trouble but have the maturity to work through them," Hegerle said. "Now it's onto the semis."
Jamestown 3, Minot 1
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MIN 17 25 23 18
JHS 25 19 25 25
MIN — Stats not provided.
JHS — Kills: Bernadette Newman 16, Haylie Hakanson 12, Benet Fronk 8, Makenna Nold 7, Leah Trumbauer 4, Kinley Anderson 4. Assists: Nold 26, Edie Hegerle 16. Digs: Aspyn Peterson 23, Newman 10, Hegerle 9, Rylee Joseph 9, Nold 7, Fronk 7, Breanna Oettle 1. Aces: Hegerle 5, Joseph 1, Newman 1, Peterson 1, Nold 1. Blocks: Anderson 5, Nold 2, Newman 2, Fronk 1, Trumbauer 1.
