Jimmies honor seniors with commanding sweep over Briar Cliff
Oct. 29—JAMESTOWN — The University of Jamestown honored their four seniors after the match against Briar Cliff University for their careers on the floor. On the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 29, during the match against the Chargers, it was all about what they could do on the floor, as they combined for 27 kills in a sweep (25-22, 25-13, 25-17) at Harold Newman Arena.
"The juniors kept saying 'it's just gonna be such a good day', because they had a lot planned," Jimmies senior Anna Holen said. "They were excited to give us the gifts so they kept saying, 'it's just gonna be such a good day for you guys,' and it was we tried to relish in the fact that we have a lot to be thankful for."
The Jimmies (27-2, 14-1) were led by senior Anna Holen's 13 kills and Kalli Hegerle's 12 kills. The current Jimmies seniors have gone a combined 149-20 in their careers as Jimmies.
"It's special but every single person in this program plays a really important role so I guess it's easy to stay humble about it," Jimmies senior Averi Beyer said.
The day was one of duality for the Jimmies as they had six new recruits in attendance for senior day.
"Like I said in the speech, it's kind of the bookends of the program," Jimmies head coach Jon Hegerle said. "You see the finished product of them moving out and you see the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we actually have six incoming players and three signing today. They're excited to come into this, it's humbling to see that and see how that perpetuates itself. That's the way it's supposed to be."
The Jimmies appeared to be sailing to a first-set win with a 10-5 lead, drawing a Chargers (6-21, 1-14) timeout. However, the stoppage flipped the first set as the Chargers cut it to 17-14. The Chargers continued to fight back tying the set up at 19. But Darienne Johnson got a kill to push the Jimmies in front 20-19. The final kill of the first set was a kill from Hegerle to make it 25-22.
"We just took it like any other home game like I said, just come in, compete," Kalli Hegerle said. "What happens, happens."
The Jimmies sprinted out an 11-4 lead in the second set and were able to stretch it out to the final of 25-13 thanks to 12 kills from seniors.
The third set was started by a Hegerle kill and the seniors helped out again as they sprinted out to a 17-13 lead. The next point was from Hegerle to make it 18-13. After the Chargers fought back to make it 19-16, Holen and Hegerle combined for the next three points to push the Jimmies lead out to 21-16. The Jimmies' Kaydn Mehring got the kill to make it 24-16 in the third set.
The Jimmies are back in action at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 1, when they go to Dakota Wesleyan University.
The Jimmies are expected to host the first round of the GPAC quarterfinals against a yet-to-be-determined opponent on Saturday, Nov. 5, which makes the win over the Chargers, only the last regular season home match of the season.
"It definitely helps that we get to keep playing of course but it's still emotional highlighting that it is coming to an end," Holen said.
BC 0, UJ 3
BC: 22 13 17 — 0
UJ: 25 25 25—3
Kills leaders:
BC: Chloe Johnson 8, Toria Andre 5, Filimaua Afatia 4
UJ: Anna Holen 13, Kalli Hegerle 12, Logan Sherman 5
Assists leaders:
BC: Tannah Heath 18, Abbey Jones 3, Jaice Johnsen 1, Johnson 1
UJ: Hegerle 18, Tenley Buddenhagen 11, Paige Oswald 10
Aces leaders:
BC: Heath 1, Jones 1, Johnsen 1, Sami Wasmund 1
UJ: Ellie Holen 3, A. Holen 2, Hegerle 2
