BISMARCK – It wasn’t a title, or third place, or even fifth place, but it was a fine way for the Jamestown Blue Jays to end their 2025 volleyball season.

Jamestown used an efficient attack to defeat Horace Saturday 25-21, 18-25, 25-22, 27-25 for seventh place in the NDHSAA AA State Volleyball Tournament at Bismarck High School’s Karlgaard Gym.

Lucy Falk again starred for the Blue Jays (22-14).  The junior hitter had 23 kills, three aces, and a crucial dig in the fourth set to save a Jamestown point for a 23-22 lead.

Claire Marker placed 14 kills.  Amelia Newman had nine, plus an ace.  Mari Anderson, one of four seniors playing in their final matches as Blue Jays, had five blocks.

Jamestown smashed 51 kills and had just 10 attack errors.  Horace (26-13) actually had three more kills, but were hurt by 27 attack errors.

Kendall Mueller led the Hawks with 25 kills.

Jamestown was down by four points three times in the first set and trailed 12-10 before Falk had five kills and Marker two in a 10-2 run for a 20-14 lead.  A Marker kill gave JHS a 23-19 lead.  Horace came within two, but back-to-back attack errors ended the set.

Horace served six aces on their way to a second-set win, including three by Jersie Duberowski in a 5-0 run for a 24-17 lead.

The Blue Jays were down 17-16 in the third when their attack led them through.  Anderson aced, Newman killed twice, Marker once, and Falk did so three times, including for the clinching point.

Horace led 10-5 in the fifth, but Newman had two kills in a 7-1 run for a 12-11 Jamestown advantage.  The Hawks led 18-16, but a kill by Marker, a block by Hannah Attleson and a kill by Newman spurred a 5-0 Jamestown stint and a 21-18 lead.

At 22-22, Falk came up with her big dig to lead to a Marker kill, then Falk killed for match point.

Horace had a Mueller kill for 24-24, then she killed again for 25-25.  But Falk ended the match with two straight kills.

Anderson, Haley Attleson, Jetta Peterson and Danika Schutt were the Jamestown seniors.