Volleyball: Jimmies offseason trip to Europe paying off with hot start

JAMESTOWN, N.D. — The Jamestown Jimmies volleyball squad is off to red hot start to open the season, winning their first 10 matches. One strength for this Jimmies team is their experience, but what sets them apart is the connection the athletes share on the court.

This past offseason, Jamestown focused on team chemistry and finding ways to bond as a group. For the first time in program history, the Jimmies went overseas for an offseason trip to compete against multiple U-20 national teams. An opportunity that catapulted the team’s connection to heights they didn’t think were possible.

“We ended up taking a trip to Europe in the beginning of August for ten days and played some teams there and traveled together,” head coach Jon Hegerle says. “All of that has brought us closer together and you can see it on the court. The players know each other quite well. The relationships are strong and we’re just excited to see where we’re going to go for the rest of the season.”

“It was amazing,” Lexi Olson adds. “It was literally the most fun experience and it was also just good to have us all together. It was also good to have everyone’s parents there. That was a different mix, like everyone had their families with them, our coaches were there, our whole team was there. It was just great to have everyone together.”

“It was an awesome experience,” says Tenley Buddenhagen. “I think none of us have really been to Europe before, so it was great to build those connections with each other in a different environment and getting to spend that much time outside of the U.S. and on the court with each other.”

It’s not just the team chemistry that benefited from the European experience. The Jimmies morale on the court has also seen a positive impact. After finding success against competition from different countries, and playing a new brand of volleyball, Jamestown’s confidence to start the season is at an all-time high.

“Whenever you go somewhere else out of your region, certainly out of the country, and you’re playing other teams that you have no idea what kind of volleyball to play,” Hegerle says. “It was a different volleyball they use over there. It’s an international ball. Some of the rules are different and every time you do that and you go and all of a sudden you are successful, you start to go, ‘Hey, you know what? We can do this.’ You sometimes wonder how good you are and then you go play those teams and you go, ‘Hey, we are pretty good.’

“I definitely think it kind of set the tone for the season,” Ellie Holen adds. “We didn’t play any American teams, but the competition was really good and our players got a lot of success playing with them over that. It was really fun.”

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