Four-set thriller: Jays edge out Braves in extra points

Sep. 15—"DROP THE HAMMER!!!!" rang out from the Jamestown High School student section nearly every time Hunter Petersen connected with the ball for a point.

"She played like a stud," Jamestown High School head volleyball coach Sara Hegerle said of Petersen. "She's a different player this year. She had a great year last year, but this year she's playing at a different level."

Petersen, a senior right side for the JHS volleyball team, helped lead the Jays' to their fourth-straight win of the 2021 season Tuesday night at the Jays' home arena. The Blue Jays took care of Mandan in four sets, outscoring the Braves 25-16, 25-12, 21-25, 26-24, to keep their undefeated streak alive.

The Jays and Bismarck Century are the two of the three remaining undefeated teams in the WDA, both at 4-0. Century has the edge on the Jays in the overall standings with a record of 11-0 while the Blue Jays stand at 10-1. The Pats and Jays are slated to meet on Thursday at Meyer Arena. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Petersen was a newcomer to Blue Jay athletics last season, transferring from Class B's Midkota at the beginning of the year. Petersen was named to the Blue Jays' 2020 varsity squad, where she racked up some valuable playing time, preparing her for her final high school season.

"I was definitely expecting another level and that kind of intimidated me, but I was ready," Petersen said of transferring programs mid-way through her high school career.

"Everyone was so welcoming — we just have this family feel on the team and that really helped calm my nerves," Petersen said of transferring programs. "All those seniors last year were so encouraging and motivating and helped me get better."

After a trip to the 2020 state volleyball tourney where the Blue Jays picked up a fifth-place finish, Petersen also saw road trips to the Class A State Basketball tourney and the Class A State Track and Field meet. The three-sport athlete didn't take time off when school let out, but instead consistently participated in team skill camps and committed to the Jays' summer strength and conditioning program.

"We were always doing stuff and that really helps because then we are all together as a team," Petersen said. "This year I learned a lot and I have definitely pushed myself this summer. Every day I had lifting at 7 a.m. so I didn't really get to sleep in, but it really shows on the court when we do the offseason stuff."

What was shown on the court Tuesday was Blue Jay grit.

A Jamestown service error put a little wind in Mandan's sails right away as the Braves put together a 5-3 scoring run. The first set saw eight lead changes and eight tied scores in the opening 12 points.

The front line of sophomore Ellie McElvaney and seniors Jordan Toman and Morgan Sheldon caught the Jays flat-footed and made them pay early on, sending balls to the hole in the middle of the court. Mandan tallied 30 power attacks at the net and 11 un-returnable serves from the backline.

After tying the match at 11, the Jays served up a 6-1 scoring run to take a 17-12 lead. Another 6-2 Blue Jay run left the Braves pretty well in the dust. Bernadette Newman's power slam on the outside to end it 25-16 left the visitors with a pretty clear knowledge of who was in control of the match.

That knowledge was only reinforced in the second.

Jamestown raced out to an 11-3 lead to start the second and Mandan was only able to crack into double digits after the Jays had reached 21. A couple of blocks from the Braves' front line made it 21-12, but aggressive serves, steady defense and the hard-swinging offense made it a convincing 25-12 win for the Blue Jays.

Petersen was the Jays' kill leader for the team's second straight match, tabulating 17 slams on the right-side.

"She gets set a lot, but she does something with the ball almost every time she gets set," Hegerle said of Petersen. "She rarely has a setting error. Coming in last year from a different school and a different system, it took her a little bit of time to get used to what we were doing.

"She's a great teammate and a great leader so all the qualities that you hope for in a great player — she had them."

While the Braves had some height in the front row with 10 players measuring 5-foot-8 or taller, the visitors couldn't seem to nail down the timing against the Blue Jay blocks in the second. Hegerle mentioned in a prior interview that blocking will be one of the Blue Jays' strengths this season as the Jays have a well-timed and athletic front row.

Annie Nabwe led the Jays' trio of blockers with three, while Petersen, Makenna Nold, Katie Trumbauer and Newman added four more to the Jays' total. Newman cracked into double digits in attacks, recording 10, while Nold and Trumbauer combined for 38 assists. The two setters also combined for eight of the team's aces.

While the Jays came up with some good stats at the net, the team's blocking and hitting rhythm were undoubtedly disrupted in the third set.

Jamestown was up for a good portion of the third, stringing together a 9-5 lead over the Braves, but the hard-swingers started to get past the front three and ended up testing a young and rather inexperienced Blue Jay defense. While the Jays were still hitting shots, the Mandan defense was also bringing a stronger defensive game.

Mandan ended up coming back from the four-point deficit to win set No. 3 25-21.

"It wasn't like there was a new person in making errors, we were just off a little bit," Hegerle said. "The setting decisions weren't great and we had passing and hitting errors, but it's whatever. That's the game of volleyball — no team is perfect."

The night may not have been perfect, but the ending to the fourth set — and match — was pretty close.

Tied at 24, junior Aspyn Peterson stepped to the service line and served up ace No. 11 for the Blue Jays to pull ahead 25-24. Petersen ended the game with a kill down the right-side sideline.

"We have shown that when we get down in sets, we can just pull it together," Petersen said. "We don't give up, which is awesome."

Jamestown 3, Mandan 1

MAN 16 12 25 24

JHS 25 25 21 26

MAN — Kills: McElvaney 10, Sheldon 7, Toman 5. Assists: Emily Toman 23. Digs: Piper Harris 21, E. Toman 11, Faith Eberle 8, Luiza Conciecao-Larson 8. Aces: McElvaney 6, E. Toman 2. Blocks: LeReena Mosbrucker 1.

JHS — Kills: Petersen 17, Newman 10, Haylie Hakanson 8, Nabwe 7, Katie Falk 6, Trumbauer 3. Assists: Trumbauer 27, Nold 11. Digs: Fischer 11, Rylee Joseph 11, Peterson 8, Nold 6, Trumbauer 5, Jada Walter 5, Petersen 4, Newman 3, Falk 3, Kaia Dillman 2. Aces: Nold 4, Trumbauer 4, Fischer 2, Peterson 1. Blocks: Nabwe 3, Nold 1, Trumbauer 1, Newman 1, Petersen 1

Records: Jamestown 10-, 4-0 WDA; Mandan 7-5, 3-2.