Volleyballs had a tough time finding the floor on Tuesday when the Bismarck Demons took on the Jamestown Blue Jays. What else can you expect when two teams ranked in the top-five of Class A volleyball meet up?
A big first-set victory was the tone-setter as the Demons pulled out a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays.
After a lengthy delay early in the match by the officiating crew discussing the opening point, a penalty against Jamestown took the opening point away from the Blue Jays. Bismarck capitalized and took control early, rolling to a relatively easy 25-12 first-set victory.
"We were excited to play [in that first set]," Bismarck head coach Brianna Kline said. "This was only our second home game so we were excited to play here. Our ball control was good and we started running plays and that's when we started scoring."
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Jamestown, a strong team in its own right, brought plenty of energy in the second set. Led by hitters Anthonette Nabwe (10 kills) and Katie Falk (10 kills), the Blue Jays took the second set 25-17. The teams were back and forth early on, but after a Bismarck timeout with the Blue Jays up 17-13, Jamestown reeled off an 8-4 run to close out the second set.
Jamestown's second-set victory was led by a number of off-schedule plays, which can cause even the best of teams trouble if they have to scramble to re-set their offense.
"[Broken plays] are something we practice," Kline said. "We try to control the pace of the game and force chaos onto the other side."
With the two teams playing a best-of-three match after splitting the first two sets, both teams' heavy hitters were picking their spots around each other's blocks with more care. Finally, it was set point in Jamestown's favor with the Blue Jays ahead 24-20. Two points by the Demons pushed Jamestown to call a timeout. That timeout was key for Bismarck.
"We needed to keep control and keep fighting to the end," Kline said. "Our motto this year is 'To the end' and they got out there, dug deep and finished. We talked about controlling what's on our side of the court rather than reacting to what they're sending over."
With Demons fans in the stands cheering themselves hoarse, Kline's squad earned four straight points after the timeout and clinched the all-important third set to put themselves in control of the match, needing just one more to claim a big win for their eventual playoff resume.
"We do well when we run plays and we threw them off when we ran plays, so doing that allowed us more points," Kline said. "We're strong outside and we know that those girls can control the ball and place it. We started running and using our other hitters, which I think threw them off and forced their blockers apart."
Key to Bismarck's four-set victory were hitters Kenadi Renner and Tayla Andersen, who worked across and around the floor to notch a dozen kills apiece.
Renner and Anderson found themselves most effective in the fourth set. The two teams bantered back and forth early, but the Demons found themselves on the favorable end of a few long rallies, got the benefit of a few mishits by the Jamestown attack, and found their block in the right place time and again. Brooke Curtis led the Demons with 3.5 blocks.
"We had a hard time with ball control at points," Kline said. "We controlled our peaks and valleys and as we got going, we got more comfortable and started picking up everything."
One last broken play with the ball kicking off the net several times eventually went the way of the Demons, and Bismarck got a win which could prove crucial seeding-wise later in the season.
"It gives them a lot of confidence that they can go up against bigger teams and be successful," Kline said.
Both teams are back on the court on Thursday. Jamestown heads to Minot for a match with the Magicians. Bismarck travels to Watford City to tangle with the Wolves.