Jamestown, N.D. – The University of Jamestown women's volleyball team returns to Harold Newman Arena this weekend for matches against Minnesota State University and No. 13 St. Cloud State University.
The Jimmies head into this weekend with a record of 14-5 overall and 7-4 in the NSIC. With the conference schedule now over halfway completed, Jamestown is currently seventh in the Northern Sun, one game behind St. Cloud State and Northern State and a game ahead of eighth place Bemidji State.
The Jimmies split a pair of road matches last weekend, falling in four sets to No. 12 Southwest Minnesota State University, but then responding with one of their best performances of the season in a 3-0 win against the University of Sioux Falls. Versus the Cougars, Jamestown recorded set wins of 25-19, 25-14, and 25-21.
The Jimmies were led by Kallyn Grove and Gracie Adamson who each posted nine kills. Grove attacked .467 (9-2-15) and Adamson set a new career high in service aces with five. Charlotte Lempka led UJ with four blocks, Sophie Ketterling had a team-best nine digs, and Kate Wiebesiek recorded 19 set assists.
Jamestown's .376 (43-8-93) attacking percentage was their best of the season while 13 service aces were the most in the match since 2022.
Gracie Adamson is one of just two players in the conference to be both top 10 in kills per set (3.31) and digs per set (3.49). Lempka is right behind Adamson in kills with a total of 156 on the season and an average of 2.33 per set. The senior from Alexandria, Minn is also the most efficient hitter on the team with a .330 attacking percentage (156-48-327).
Sophie Ketterling continues to be at the top of the NSIC podium in digs per set with 5.26 on a Jamestown team that ranks third in the conference with 17.15 digs per set. UJ is fourth in the conference in both opponent attacking percentage (.171) and blocks (2.15 per set) in large part due to the net-front presence of Kyleigh Schopp who ranks fifth in the conference with 1.07 blocks per set. Lempka ranks 10th among NSIC players with .91 blocks per set.
It has been a bit of a down season for the Minnesota State Mavericks as they are 7-12 overall with a 5-6 conference record, although their strength of schedule has been one of the best in the country with the Mavericks playing nine matches against ranked teams. They are currently ninth in the conference, just one game out of the final NSIC playoff spot.
The Mavericks also split their last weekend, getting their biggest win of the year on Friday at No. 14 Minnesota Duluth, becoming the first NSIC team to knock off the Bulldogs. However, Minnesota State could not keep up the momentum the following day as they were swept by Bemidji State.
It was a long three-set match against the Beavers with the set scores at 25-20, 27-25, and 30-28. Over the course of the match, Avery Klein had 13 kills and attacked .480 (13-1-25) while also recording two service aces and three digs. Olivia Sturgis had nine kills while Jadyn Lester recorded 22 assists, six digs, two blocks, and a service ace.
Minnesota State is coming off of a season in which they were nationally ranked throughout most of the year as they finished with a record of 23-6 and 15-5 in the NSIC. The Mavericks finished fourth in the conference but lost to the fifth seeded Sioux Falls Cougars at home in the Northern Sun tournament which spoiled their chances of an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament. Minnesota State was selected sixth in the 2026 NSIC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Statistically speaking, the Mavericks rank as one of the weaker teams in the NSIC in terms of offensive numbers, though they do have five players averaging at least two kills per set. Klein commands the offensive with a set average of 2.38 kills with the junior recording at least 13 kills in four straight matches now. Avery Rosenberg has averaged two kills per set and has the highest attacking percentage on the team at .314 (132-27-334) while Olivia Sturgis has 2.07 kills per set with a team best 57 blocks (.85 per set).
Lester has been one of the top setters in the conference with an average of 8.98 assists each set, ranking sixth in the conference, as well as 2.44 digs per set and an NSIC-best 0.58 service aces per set. Freshman Savannah Meyer tops the team with a set average of 3.21 digs.
St. Cloud State comes into this weekend with a 14-5 record and an 8-3 conference mark. The Huskies are currently tied for fourth in the conference and ranked 13th in the latest AVCA Volleyball National Coaches' Poll. St. Cloud State will head over to Northern State Friday before making the trip up to Jamestown on Saturday.
SCSU is currently riding a five-game win streak after two wins this weekend against Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth, both in straight sets. Duluth was the Huskies first ranked victory of the season after they posted set wins of 25-21, 27-25, and 25-20 on the road.
Versus the Bulldogs, Kinsey Mohwinkle tied a career-high posting 13 kills and attacking .429 (13-4-21) in the road sweep while Shelby Kimm went for 12 digs and eight kills. Carlie Willis and Hannah Bruskiewicz each had four blocks and setter Braya LaPlant commanded the offense with 35 set assists. SCSU held Duluth to a rough .067 attacking percentage (29-21-119) in large part thanks to 10 team blocks.
The Huskies are coming off a historic season in which they were 28-7 overall and 18-2 in the NSIC. St. Cloud State finished in third place in the conference but rattled off three straight wins over Southwest Minnesota State, Wayne State, and then Concordia St. Paul to earn the NSIC Tournament crown. The NCAA tournament was quite memorable as well for SCSU after they earned the auto bid and slotted in as the four seed in the Central Region. The Huskies took down Missouri Western State in the first round, then upset one-seed Nebraska Kearney in the Central Region Semifinals. The run ended at the hands of CSP in five sets in the Sweet 16 and Central Region Championship. After their run, St. Cloud State received two first place votes to win the NSIC in the 2026 Preseason Coaches' Poll and slotted in third overall, only behind CSP and Wayne State.
Shelby Kimm, one of the key pieces returning from last season, paces the team in kills with 3.29 per set at 204 overall. Five others are averaging at least two kills per set with Carlie Willis and Emery Thury ranking second and third on the team with 2.75 and 2.59 kills per set, respectively.
Laurin Hamann ranks as one of the best liberos in the NSIC with an average of 4.48 digs per set to slot her third in the conference. Perhaps the best player so far has been LaPlant with her 11.16 assists per set only trailing Ava Nilsson of Northern State and ranking third in the country. The junior from Grand Rapids, Minn. has at least 30 assists in nine straight matches, including a 50-assist performance against Winoa State (9/29/26). LaPlant has earned each of the past two NSIC Setter of the Week awards.
Some of the strongest numbers possessed by the Huskies on the season are fifth in the NSIC in opponent attacking percentage (.182), fourth in kills per set (14.17), and second in assists per set (13.56).
Jamestown and Minnesota State clashed twice in the 2025 season with the Jimmies losing 3-1 in Harold Newman Arena in September and then 3-0 on the road in Mankato in October. In the first matchup, the Jimmies took the first set 25-23, but dropped the next three, all by fairly significant margins. Corbyn Menz led the team in kills with 11 while Momoka Minamiya finished with 16 digs and two service aces.
UJ did not do so hot in the second match either, attacking just .066 (30-21-137) and getting blocked nine times in the three-set defeat. Minamiya set a career-high in digs with 26 while Addison Brooke posted nine kills and two blocks.
The Jimmies also played St. Cloud State twice, both resulting in three-set sweeps. The first match in Jamestown saw three extremely tight sets with UJ falling 25-21, 25-23, and 25-23. The Jimmies attacked .165 (39-21-109) but had little answers for SCSU who hit .333 (49-13-108). Menz posted nine kills and eight digs to lead Jamestown.
The match down in Central Minnesota about a month later saw UJ attack a much improved .226 (25-4-93) while they also posted 11 team blocks, including Schopp with seven and Mya Foslien and Addison Brooke with four each. However, the Huskies attacked a little better at .308 (50-18-104) while also recording 12 service aces. Foslien led the Jimmies in kills with eight while Minamiya provided nine digs.
Following the two games this upcoming weekend, the Jimmies will take a road trip out to Southeastern Minnesota where they will play Winona State and CSP the following weekend.
