Coming off an emotionally draining victory against Mandan on Thursday night, Dickinson High volleyball coach Jay Schobinger was worried about a letdown.
But the Midgets put his worries at ease with a pair of double-digit victories early, as Dickinson swept the Blue Jays 3-0 Friday night in Jamestown.
"I don't think we played our game," said Jamestown coach Ashley Morgan. "Our serve-receive was awesome, but we couldn't get anyone to get the ball down. We didn't see their side of the court all that well."
"We came out and played consistently and that is what we were looking for," Schobinger said.
Dickinson started fast, scoring nine of the first 10 points in the opening game, with 6-4 Midget middle hitter Katelyn Steffan blocking three shots and killing three more.
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"She was going to get her kills," Morgan said. "But I don't think she beat us. We beat ourselves. We had a few missed serves and net errors after we had gotten momentum that hurt us. I don't think she affected the win or the loss."
"You don't find many 6-4 players in the state that can jump," said Schobinger. "She is an intimidating factor. She has basically been starting since she was a freshman and we expect a lot out of her."
The Blue Jays would rally to within four, 14-10, but three unforced errors by Jamestown combined with a pair of net violations keyed the 25-15 loss.
The second game would be much of the same as the Midgets led 21-9 at one point before a Paige Nash kill closed out the game 25-13.
"Even though we lost a good group of seniors from last year, the kids have confidence from what they did during the season last year," Schobinger said of his defending state championship team that hasn't lost a match since Mandan took them down last season.
An Allison Schmitz ace and a Jesse Trapp block on Steffan helped Jamestown to an early 4-0 lead in the third game, but it would prove to be the Blue Jays only real momentum builder of the match.
Trailing 6-4, Steffan had two kills followed up by a pair of aces as Dickinson jumped ahead of the strength of a 7-1 scoring run and wouldn't trail again.
The Midgets have won 10 consecutive matches to open the season and are 3-0 in West Region play.
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"I think we have a lot of things to learn," Morgan said. "A lot of the girls are still very raw and their heads are full of new information for the next game. Dickinson is a good team, but we could play better."
Steffan finished the night with 11 kills, four aces and six blocks while Whitley Abrahamson handed out 21 assists for the Midgets. Nash coupled eight kills with a pair of aces.
Hannah Steinmetz, Jenny Schuchard and Leah Jystad led the Blue Jays with four kills each while Allison Schmitz had six assists. Joyce Samson led Jamestown with 12 digs and Krysten Williams added 10.
The Blue Jays (5-4 Overall, 1-1 West Region) host Minot today at 3 p.m. while Dickinson travels to Williston on Sept. 14.
