St. Paul, Minn. – The No. 7-seeded University of Jamestown women's volleyball team heads to the Twin Cities to face No. 2-seeded Concordia University St. Paul, in the quarterfinal round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Tournament Tuesday night.
2026 NSIC Volleyball Tournament
Game Information
The Teams
The Jimmies finished the regular season with a 19-9 overall record and a 12-8 mark in NSIC play, a nine-win improvement from the previous year with seven more conference victories than in 2025. After their 2-0 weekend, Jamestown leapfrogged Augustana University for seventh place in the conference standings, clinching a playoff spot Friday against the University of Minnesota Crookston before securing the No. 7 seed Saturday with a win over Minnesota State University Moorhead.
The Jimmies capped off the regular season with a three-set sweep of MSU Moorhead, marking their ninth consecutive set victory as they head into St. Paul on a three-match winning streak. Before Saturday's result, the Dragons had won four straight matches, including a road victory over No. 19 Minnesota Duluth and a home win against (RV) Northern State University the day before UJ came to town.
Jamestown won the three sets against Moorhead by scores of 25-19, 25-21 and 25-17.
Gracie Adamson recorded 18 kills, while
Charlotte Lempka hit an impressive .786 (12-1-14).
Ava Bertsch added 23 assists and eight digs and
Sophie Ketterling finished with 22 digs.
Jamestown's .350 (56-15-117) attacking percentage was its third-highest mark of the season, while its 56 kills were by far the most the Jimmies recorded in a three-set match. One day earlier, UJ posted a season-high .421 (48-8-95) attacking percentage against Crookston. The Jimmies hit above .200 in six of their final seven regular-season matches.
Last week, three Jimmies earned Second Team All-NSIC honors. Adamson was the first of these honorees, with the senior from Brookings, S.D., finishing the regular season fourth in the NSIC in kills per set (3.56), 11th in digs per set (3.37) and fourth in points per set (4.11). The outside hitter has recorded at least 10 kills in six of her last seven matches, including a career-high 22 during that stretch.
Another major offensive contributor has been Lempka, who started putting up impressive numbers late in the season. The Alexandria, Minn., native has recorded double-digit kills in five of her last seven matches and has hit above .500 in four of her last five contests. This past weekend, the 6-foot-3 middle blocker hit .750 (20-2-24) across two matches. On the season, Lempka averages 2.56 kills per set while boasting a .368 (253-66-508) attacking percentage, ranking sixth in the NSIC.
Ketterling has put together an outstanding season to lead Jamestown's strong back-row defense. The senior from Napoleon, N.D., finished the regular season sixth in NCAA Division II and first in the NSIC with 5.59 digs per set. The Second Team All-Conference selection recorded 38 digs (6.33 per set) during her final weekend of regular-season play, finishing with 16 matches of 20 or more digs in 2026. Her efforts helped lead a Jamestown team that ranked third in the Northern Sun in digs per set (17.17).
Blocking has been one of the Jimmies' greatest strengths and has continued to improve throughout the season. UJ averages an NSIC-high 2.25 blocks per set, which, combined with its back-row defense, helped Jamestown finish the regular season third in the conference with a .173 opponent attacking percentage.
Kyleigh Schopp climbed to the top of the conference rankings with 1.18 blocks per set, a mark that also ranks 19th nationally. Lempka (0.90 blocks per set) and
Caroline Puetz (0.89 blocks per set) have also been strong contributors at the net.
The No. 2-seeded Bears have a well-established history of postseason success and enter Tuesday's matchup after finishing the regular season 22-6 overall and 17-3 in NSIC play. Currenlty ranked 10th in the AVCA Volleyball Coaches' Poll, CSP's only three conference losses came against No. 4 Wayne State College, No. 15 St. Cloud State University and No. 19 Minnesota Duluth.
The loss to Wayne State came last Friday in three sets at home, but the Bears bounced back to win their regular-season finale against Augustana in four sets. CSP took the first two sets 25-14 and 25-17 before dropping the third 25-23. The Bears then closed out the match with a 25-22 victory in the fourth set.
NSIC Player of the Year Makenna Nold led the way with 26 kills, a .449 (26-4-49) attacking percentage and 16 digs. Kelsey Cooper added 12 kills, while freshman setter Audrey Waterman orchestrated the offense with a career-high 51 assists and four blocks. Abby Rolblecki and Marta Leeland were both active defensively, recording 15 and 14 digs, respectively.
For the match, CSP hit .358 (64-16-134), while the Vikings finished at .170 (46-22-141). The Bears also held advantages in service aces (6-5), blocks (8-6) and digs (68-50).
In addition to Nold earning her second consecutive NSIC Player of the Year award, Mehlayna Straub was named First Team All-Conference, while Cooper earned Second Team honors. Nold is the Bears' primary offensive threat, leading the conference with 4.13 kills per set while posting a .278 (450-144-1102) attacking percentage. She also leads CSP with 2.93 digs per set and 42 service aces.
Straub does not receive nearly as many attacking opportunities as Nold but has been highly efficient, with her .382 (294-62-607) attacking percentage ranking fourth in the NSIC. Her 2.70 kills per set rank second on the team. Defensively, she averages 1.02 blocks per set, with her 111 total blocks ranking second in the conference.
Also contributing to CSP's team attacking percentage of .264 is Cooper, who averages 2.51 kills per set and holds a .318 (271-72-626) attacking percentage. Other key players include Waterman, who averages 6.51 assists per set, and Kaelyn Snoozy, who records 2.69 digs per set.
Last Time Out
The Jimmies and Bears previously met on October 24 at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul. UJ gave CSP all it could handle, building a sizable lead before taking the opening set 25-23. However, the Jimmies dropped the next three sets by narrow scores of 25-21, 26-24 and 27-25.
Adamson set a then-career-high with 20 kills in the match while also adding 11 digs and four service aces. Lempka and
Addison Ertz each recorded 11 kills. Ketterling logged 26 digs, while Schopp added five blocks to highlight Jamestown's defensive efforts. Bertsch contributed 24 assists and eight digs in the loss.
Nold was nearly unstoppable for Concordia-St. Paul, recording 34 kills, many of which came late in the sets that Jamestown dropped. 34 kills were the most by any NSIC player in a single match this season.
The Jimmies had a solid offensive performance, hitting .244 (55-15-164), but the Bears were even better at .312 (72-18-173). UJ held advantages in blocks (8-6) and service aces (7-6), while CSP finished with more digs (81-69).
Jamestown will look for its first NSIC victory over the 2025 National Runner-Up after dropping both meetings in straight sets during the 2025 season.
Team Stats
|
Jamestown |
Concordia St. Paul |
| Record |
19-9, 12-8 NSIC |
22-6, 17-3 NSIC |
| Kills / Set |
13.3 |
14 |
| Attacking Pct. |
.217 |
.264 |
| Assists / Set |
12.3 |
13.1 |
| Digs / Set |
17.2 |
16.2 |
| Aces / Set |
1.6 |
1.8 |
| Blocks / Set |
2.2 |
2.1 |
Should the Jimmies pull off the quarterfinal upset, the NSIC semifinals and championship will be held at the site of the highest remaining seed following the quarterfinal round. The matches will take place between Friday, November 13, and Sunday, November 15, with the exact dates determined by the host institution.
To view the entire playoff bracket and stay up to date on results throughout the tournament, please visit
northernsun.org or click the link at the top of the press release.
