The No. 23 University of Minnesota Duluth Volleyball team swept the RV Jamestown Jimmies in three straight sets to claim their 11th victory of the season to move to 11-1, and 4-0 in the NSIC. Jamestown suffered only their second loss, going to 10-2 and 3-1 in the NSIC.
"I was really happy with how we came out," said Head Coach Jim Boos. "I feel like Jamestown made some adjustments defensively and started serving us tougher. They are a very scrappy team that gets in the way of a lot of shots which makes it challenging. We were lucky to escape the second set, but we built some momentum heading into the third."
UMD is now 2-0 all-time against the Jimmies, having yet to concede a set against them.
Kenzie Kiminski and Xada Johnson led the team with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Paige Decker and Madeline Guetzkow were the hitting leaders with .350 and .292. Kiminski, Johnson, Guetzkow, and Paige Decker were the top scorers, with 13, 11, 11, and 9.5 points. Ava Jones tallied 31 assists and three aces for the Bulldogs, and Elyse Karrels recorded 4.5 blocks for UMD.
The Bulldogs started off hot, with two five-point streaks and a four-point streak leading the way for a 25-13 win in the first set off of a blazing start from Xada Johnson, recording five kills in the set, including three late. UMD had a .500 hitting percentage vs. .074 from the Jimmies. The Bulldogs also had three blocks and 17 kills in the set vs. eight and one for Jamestown.
The second set was a battle between both sides, with neither gaining an edge through it. UMD found themselves down late in the set, 19-21, but the Bulldogs locked in. Aided from back-to-back aces from Ava Jones, UMD surged back to win the set 25-23 and take a 2-0 set lead. The Bulldogs had 12 kills, three blocks, and a .091 hitting percentage in the set. The Jimmies had 8 kills, two blocks, and -.024 hitting percentage.
The third set saw the Bulldogs build a 17-10 lead, but the Jimmies didn't go away quietly, getting within 1 to make it 19-20, scoring seven of the next nine points. However it wouldn't be enough. Paige Decker and Madeline Guetzkow starred late, and Xada Johnson got the finishing kill a few points later, and the Bulldogs came out on top 25-22, getting the win.
"Credit to Jamestown, they are a very well coached team and have a great record, and they will continue to be a very challenging team going forward" said coach Boos.
The Bulldogs take to the road next Thursday, September 24th, taking on the Bemidji State Beavers at 6:00 p.m.
