Coach Ashley Lund’s sixth-seeded Jayhawks were 23-25, 26-24, 25-11, 25-15 winners over No. 11 Fashion Institute of Technology to begin the day in first-round action.

Taking some time to adjust to new court conditions, Jamestown CC had some trouble passing to start things off.

“We were just struggling to get the ball out of serve receive. We couldn’t get the good passes going,” said Jamestown CC head coach Ashley Lund. “Once we figured that out, we were slowly making our way back. I think it was more about getting into the rhythm of the game.”

Jenna Caskey came up big in that match, hitting home for 20 kills while also grabbing two assists and 13 digs while Megan Gominiak added 10 kills, five digs and a block for the Jayhawks.

Megan Gominiak of Jamestown Community College exchanges a high-five with athletic director George Sisson during a sendoff for the volleyball team prior to its departure for the NJCAA Division III National Championship earlier this week. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

Gominiak has posted strong play at times during the season, and certainly picked the right venue to find her groove again yesterday.

“We really spread the ball around really well, both inside and outside. Megan was hitting the ball well in warmups and I think that carried over. Certainly Alexys Marsh did a a good job, she was running some slides behind and opening up opportunities to hit.”

After getting their passing sorted out and sneaking out a two-point win in the second set, Jamestown CC would continue to improve its game down the stretch to recover from a loss in the opener.

Maddy Russo had 38 assists and 11 digs; Cameryn Hawkins one kill and 25 digs; Karleigh Haines seven kills, five aces and 11 digs; Marsh six kills, one ace and four digs; and Emma Wirsen added 21 digs.

Entering quarterfinal action, Jamestown CC was unable to get past No. 3 Columbus State, falling 15-25, 16-25, 15-25. The Jayhawks had seen their second-round opponent play earlier in the year and knew they would have their work cut out for them.

“I knew that they were going to be tough, we knew what they had,” said Lund. “We were usually pretty good up until about ten points and then Columbus would pull away. We hung with them a little longer in the second game, but just had a few silly errors and they got in a good rotation.”

The Jayhawks were stuck on the defensive in that contest against a much harder-hitting team, with Caskey, Haines and Hawkins racking up 10, 11 and 13 digs respectively.

“We got a little hesitant and I think they were a little nervous with the ball being pounded at us. I thought we made some good plays. Hawkins was really digging some nice balls for us,” said Lund.

Caskey would finish with 11 kills and one ace, while Haines chipped in eight kills, Wirsen seven digs and Russo 18 assists and six digs.

Today the Jayhawks will enter the consolation bracket, facing No. 7 Harper at 3 p.m. EST.

“They were playing Rochester just before we played Columbus State,” Lund said of Harper. “They looked good, they had a couple girls who were really hitting the ball. I’m hopeful that we can come out and have a strong outing, play a little tighter.”

If the Jayhawks win today, they will play for fifth/sixth-place, while a loss will put them into the seventh/eighth-place game on Saturday.