Our Lady Jaguars, shown here during a timeout against Buffalo Lake-Hector last week, have much to be excited about as they enter Section 6AA-17 playoffs beginning this Friday at home against Holdingford.Lady Jaguar Volleyball - Ready to Rumble!
Living up to the pressure they've carried all season long, our Lady Jaguar volleyball team set a new school record for regular-season wins last week, beating all three opponents to move to 25-3 going into playoffs. In 2003 the Lady Jaguars went 23-3 in regular season play before going 2-1 in Section 6AA-17 to finish as runners-up to Albany. In 2005 they went 24-2 in regular season play before an unforgettable 4-0 run through Section 6AA to earn the program's first-ever "State" berth in Class 2A.
Playoff action begins this Friday, with our second-seeded Lady Jaguars hosting seventh-seeded Holdingford. The Sub-section 6AA-17 semi-finals will be held next Tuesday October 31 (Halloween!) at the Paynesville High School. The first match is at 6:30pm with Sauk Centre facing the Osakis/EV-W winner. The second match would most likely be our Lady Jaguars taking on the Albany Huskies, beginning at about 8:00pm.
The sub-section championship is next Thursday, November 2nd, also at the Paynesville High School. Please go to this new Jaguars' Sports Blog for daily, up-to-the-hour information on event sites/locations, as well as opponent scouting and section analysis for our Jaguar athletic teams: http://bbejaguars.blogspot.com.
*NOTE: See below for a possible dilemma for Jaguar fans on Thursday, November 2nd.
Sauk Centre squeezed out the Lady Jaguars for the number-one seed. This last happened in 2002, the first year our Lady Jaguars made a section final appearance, after knocking the Mainstreeters out in the sub-section championship. Let's make a statement to Sauk Centre and show how to support a high school athletic team while helping history repeat itself.
Lady Jaguars 3, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 0
The Lady Jaguars faced a solid Lakers' squad to finish the conference schedule and came away with a hard-earned 25-23, 25-21, 25-21 win. They battled through three close games and held to a lead most of the way while keeping the Lakers from getting their offense in gear. It is their fourth conference championship since 2000, and sixth overall since their first volleyball title in 1994. It caps their eighth season in the CMC, with an overall conference record of 47-10.
April Hansen led her team by going 24-of-28 in attacks with 13 kills. Ashley Lensing was perfect in hitting on 17-of-17 attacks for 10 kills. Heidi Lensing was 18-of-22 in hitting with seven kills, Katie Gruber was 12-of-13 for two kills, Sarah Gruber went eight-of-eight for one kill, Jena Schroeder was two-of-two in attacks, and Emily Roelike was one-of-one in attacks. Sarah Gruber was also 45-of-51 in setting for 18 set assists, with Jenny Hieserich going 22-of-25 in sets with seven set assists.
Lady Jaguars 3, Buffalo Lake-Hector 1
In their second match in two days against a tough opponent, the Lady Jaguars rose to the occasion. It was evident from the start that the Mustangs would mount a strong big to upset their opponent after being soundly beaten in the Willmar tournament's championship match by our Lady Jaguars. The Lady Jaguars won 25-13, 25-19, 20-25, 25-17.
April Hansen led the squad in hitting with 16 kills, followed by Heidi Lensing with 15 and Ashley Lensing with nine. Hansen, Sarah Gruber and Ashley Lensing served three aces each, with Gruber earning 16 set assists. Jenny Hieserich was an excellent 22-of-23 in the setting department with 10 set assists. Lindsay Goodwin was a force at the net with four ace blocks. Emily Roelike played an excellent game at the libero position, earning 23 digs.
Lady Jaguars 3, Osakis 1
In a re-scheduled match last Wednesday afternoon, our Lady Jaguars faced an Osakis team on the road that had a winning record for the first time since the 1990s. The Silverstreaks were no match, however, even after picking up a big in in a very stretched-out game two, 30-28. In the other three games, the Lady Jaguars played top-notch volleyball on both defense and offense, winning 25-10, 25-16, 25-10. The Silverstreaks also received the fifth seed, their highest seed since Section 6AA was created in 1999.
Heidi Lensing led her team with 15 kills in 23-of-25 attacks, followed by Ashley Lensing with 12 kills in 17-of-21 attacks and April Hansen with 11 kills in 26-of-31 attacks.
Underclassmen Sarah Gruber and Emily Roelike were perfect at the service line, going 15-of-15 and 31-of-31, respectively, with Gruber earning two aces and Roelike earning six aces. Roelike also added 16 digs.
SECTION 6AA-17 SEEDING:
1- Sauk Centre
2- B-B-E
3- Albany
4- Osakis
5- Eden Valley-Watkins
6- New London-Spicer
7- Holdingford
8- Long Prairie-Grey Eagle
9- Paynesville
Osakis defeated Eden Valley-Watkins in a late-season match to edge out the Eagles' for the fourth seed. Holdingford finished with nine wins, edging out LP-GE who ended with six wins. New London-Spicer played in tough tournaments throughout the season and finished with eight wins, edging Holdingford for the sixth seed and missing out on a second-straight pounding by our Lady Jaguars to open the playoffs. NL-S will open at Albany, who is in a rebuilding year with no clear standouts on their team.
Sauk and B-B-E are about as close as they get in terms of talent and skill. B-B-E's prowess on offense is perhaps edged slightly by Sauk's finesse and defensive savvy. Where the Lady Jaguars have the edge that beats anything else, is in experience, earning twice what Sauk had in 2005, including their state tournament experience.
Prediction: Next Thursday, November 2nd, our local Jaguar fans will be in a race from Fargo, ND down Interstate-94 to the Meier Grove exit, then 22 miles down Highway 4 to the Paynesville High School. (Hopefully not an actual race, but they will be hard-pressed on time.) The FargoDome hosts the Section 5A championship at 3:00pm. Total mileage between the two locations is a whopping 160 miles. The football game wouldn't be over until at least 5:00pm, possibly 5:30, meaning fans will have to gas up before traveling to Fargo, eat at the FargoDome, then average 80-mph down I-94 to get to Paynesville in time.
A sobering thought: last year for the sub-section championship match at the Albany High School, the gymnasium was filled to capacity and at match time, fans were lined up into the parking lot waiting to get in. Obviously, a Sauk/B-B-E matchup this time around would bring even more fans than last time.
Should the volleyball match be moved to Friday, November 3rd? Then this problem arises: the section championship is the very next day, Saturday, at UM-Morris.
A simple solution: Move the volleyball match up one hour, to 8:00pm. It's not like B-B-E and Sauk Centre fans have a long drive back home after the volleyball match. This would allow time for Jaguar fans to make the 150-mile trek from Fargo to Albany. Driving 70-mph still makes it a 2-hour, 25-minute drive. There is a good chance fans couldn't get on the road until 5:30, giving little room to breathe even with an 8:00pm volleyball match.
Here's where coaches and athletic directors will have issues to work through. It's no lie that the A.D. can be a most thankless job filled with headaches. This is one example.
Anyone up for sponsoring small airplanes from Fargo to Paynesville?