Oct. 20—JAMESTOWN — Every year on senior night, Sara Hegerle gets asked the same question:
"What do you want to say about this year's seniors?"
The Jamestown High School volleyball coach had a lot to say about the Class of 2027.
"Every year we always think, what will we do without this group?," Hegerle said. "This year, we have seven seniors and it's weird for me to think about what it is going to look like without them because not only have they been in our program, but they have been contributors for a long time.
"I know a lot of people from other towns are going to be happy when they graduate," she said. "They have such a special bond with each other and have such special bonds with people in this school and in our community. It's fun to watch them play well and succeed together."
The crew of seven seniors helped the Blue Jays improve their conference record to 14-1 on Tuesday night, defeating Minot North in straight sets. The next game on the schedule for the Jays is set for Oct. 27. The Jays are set to host Minot High beginning at 7 p.m.
Through patience and consistent swings at the net, the Jays came back from a 15-10 deficit to tie the first set at 16 points. The Sentinels continued to fight and were the first team to 20 points but a big cross-court attack from Lucy Falk tied things again at 20. Minot North scored three straight to take a 23-20 lead and made Hegerle burn a timeout.
"We were a little nervous because in past senior nights we've been a little bit off — just a little emotional — but this time, out of the timeout we took when we were a little shaky, we flipped the switch and dialed it in on volleyball," senior Adisyn Yunck said. "We were ready to go, it was so exciting."
A 16-3 lead over the Sentinels allowed the Jays to try out some new looks offensively and while some discombobulation allowed the Sentinels to come within six of the game leaders Jamestown was still squarely in control. One last power kill from the Jays ended the set 25-15.
To Minot North's credit, the Sentinels did not give up. The visitors traded points with the Blue Jays through the first 16 points of the match but Jamestown pulled away, going on a 5-0 run to make it 13-8. The run continued for the Jays and soon the score stood at 19-11.
The Blue Jays kept the scoring streak alive, allowing the Sentinels to only score two more points. A block from Aylexys Walch ended the match.
Standout Lucy Falk was a force at the net, dropping 21 kills for Jamestown. Hannah Attleson set the offense with 37 assists. Amelia Newman finished with 19 digs.
For Minot North, Addie Harper contributed 8 kills. Brynn Francis added 7 kills and 10 digs, and Elli Laskowski delivered a strong defensive effort with 21 digs.
"I was expecting honestly — exactly what happened," Hegerle said of Tuesday's win. "I was expecting our kids to play well but for Minot North to also play well, they are fifth in the West right now and I have a feeling that we are going to see them again."
Jamestown 3, Minot North 0
MIN-N 23 15 13
JHS 25 25 25
MIN-N — Kills: Addie Harper 8, Brynn Francis 7, Elli Laskowski 5, Evelyn Jessen 3, Brinley Harper 3. Assists: LeAnne Sim 14, Brynn Francis 8, Kailyn Mckechnie 1. Digs: Elli Laskowski 21, Kailyn Mckechnie 11, Brynn Francis 10, LeAnne Sim 7, Addie Harper 3, Evelyn Jessen 2, Brinley Harper 2, Eden Brooks 1. Aces: LeAnne Sim 2. Blocks: Elli Laskowski 2, Evelyn Jessen 2, Brynn Francis 1, Brinley Harper 1.
JHS — Kills: Lucy Falk 21, Claire Marker 10, Aylexes Walch 7, Amelia Newman 6, Morgan Scott 5, Hannah Attleson 1. Assists: Hannah Attleson 37, Amelia Newman 3, Adisyn Yunck 1, Aylexes Walch 1, Quinn Biloff 1. Digs: Amelia Newman 19, Adisyn Yunck 15, Quinn Biloff 16, Hannah Attleson 13, Aylexes Walch 5, Morgan Scott 5, Quinn Biloff 4, Milan Martin 3, Claire Marker 3, Lily Schulz 1. Aces: Amelia Newman 2, Lily Schulz 1, Milan Martin 1, Lucy Falk 1. Blocks: Claire Marker 2, Falk 1, Aylexes Walch 1.