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JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Less than 24 hours after suffering a road defeat on Friday night, No. 3 Midland University took on No. 2 University of Jamestown in the marquee match of the weekend across NAIA volleyball. The Warriors battled through adversity and edged the Jimmies in a five-set thriller (17-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-23, 15-10). The win improves Midland to 18-3 overall and 8-2 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC). The loss not only drops Jamestown to 19-2 and 7-1 in the conference, but it also snaps a 19-match winning streak this season and a 40-match home winning streak inside Harold Newman Arena.

The opening set saw each team go on big runs as their rotation found favorable matchups. Following a 5-3 start for the Warriors, the Jimmies were first to break out in front with an 8-0 run. Midland battled back with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 12-12. A pair of 3-0 runs by the home team down the stretch gave them the first set in the battle of top-five teams.

In the second, neither side could get much further than a couple of points in front of the other throughout. Back and forth they went up to a tie at 19-19. Two straight points by the Warriors gave them the upper hand and they moved to set point, 24-21, following a kill from Addisyn Mosier and an error by the Jimmies. Following two points for UJ, Hope Leimbach and Abbey Ringler teamed up for the block to even the match at a game each.

Set number three saw Jamestown in the driver's seat nearly wire-to-wire. Following an attack error that gave Midland the first point, the Jimmies took over the lead and despite two early ties on the scoreboard, they led the rest of the way. Their lead expanded as they limited the Warriors to only one point gained while they held serve. In the set, UJ hit at match-best .600 on the attack while limiting MU to just .094.

With their backs against the wall, the Warriors battled through adversity in the fourth. With their offense being held in check by the Jimmies, they relied on their defense to help level the match back at two games apiece. Midland overcame their lowest hitting percentage of the day (.085) in the fourth with three timely service aces from Kailyn Scott (2) and Leimbach (1). With the game tied at 23-23, the Jimmies had two straight errors, a service ace followed by an attack error, to push the match to a decisive fifth set.

In the winner-take-all race to 15, Neither team was willing to budge. There were ties at each of the first six points before a big-time block from Leimbach and Lauryn Samuelson gave the Warriors a two-point edge. After the flip of sides, kills by Taliyah Flores and Samuelson extended the lead to 11-7 and the Warriors rolled to the 15-10 win over the Jimmies.

"It was just a great performance by our team today. There are not many teams in the country that could play so poorly on Friday night and then be able to regroup and knock off the No. 2 team in the country the next day," said head coach Paul Giesselmann. "They have a great advantage at home, playing in front of their fans. I think this says a lot about our team and our culture to be able to get this win today. It was a defensive battle and both teams made impressive plays. We're happy to get out of here with the win."

Jamestown had 14 blocks at the net while Midland registered just 6. Leimbach had three block assists while Samuelson matched that and added a solo stuff to her stat line.

In the back row, Delanie Vallinch tallied 15 digs while Flores (14), Brooke Fredrickson (11), Scott (11), and Leimbach (10) were all in double digits as well.

On the attack, Midland hit just .118 while Jamestown countered with a percentage of .225. Mosier had a season-high 20 kills while Flores added 15. Ringler (8) and Carrie Beethe (7) were the next two highest on the team.

Midland (18-3, 8-2 GPAC)) will look to build upon their statement win next weekend when they host No. 12 Dordt (12-5, 6-3 GPAC). The teams will take the floor inside the Wikert Event Center on October 15. First serve is slated for 3:00 p.m. on Saturday in Fremont, Nebraska.

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