Both days, the bus(es) will leave at 11:00am from the elementary and 11:15am from the high school.
**Also, on Wednesday morning the public is invited to join the K-12 student body for a rousing send-off/pep fest for our state-tournament bound Jaguars volleyball team. It will begin at 10:15.
The Mayer Lutheran Crusaders appeared in the Class AA state tournament in 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2006, they fell in the sub-section championship to eventual Class AA state champion Jordan.
Falling to Class A in 2007, like our Jaguars, they remain strong as ever, and their 17-13 overall record may be misleading. They have gone toe-to-toe with numerous Class AA and AAA teams this year. For example, at a recent tournament, the Crusaders beat Class AA power Stewartville in a 2-1 match. The Stewartville Tigers are in the state tournament again, as Section 1AA champions. The Tigers locked horns with our Jaguars in the 2005 state quarterfinals, as any B-B-E volleyball fan can vividly remember.
After losing to Jordan by a 3-0 sweep on October 11 (19-25, 18-25, 12-25), their head coach was quoted as saying, "Overall we played a very up-tempo game and strong defense which we know will help us during the playoffs." Jordan is the top-ranked team in Class AA, with a 29-1 overall record. They are in the state tournament as well, after winning the Section 2AA title over the weekend. Their only loss is to Class AAA Shakopee, who is 28-1 overall and will play in the state tournament.
Make no bones about it, Mayer Lutheran is tough as nails and will present the toughest challenge our Jaguars have faced since September 15 when they met St.Cloud Cathedral in the semi-final match of the Sauk Rapids Invitational (a tough 2-1 loss). The Pine River-Backus battle in the section final was a good test that is just a preview of what will come at "state".
I will try to get more info on the Crusaders posted on Wednesday.
Another fun fact: Class AAA Maple Grove lost in the Section 5AAA final to Blaine (23-5) in a five-game match over the weekend. Maple Grove lost 2-1 in the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted tournament to our Jaguars on September 8. They finished the season 17-11 overall.
A sidenote...wanna hear the craziest thing in the world? Ok maybe not that crazy but it sure is noteworthy. The Rockford Rockets football team is in the Class AAA state tournament, after winning the Section 5-3A championship. This is only one season removed from a 1-7 disaster during which they were smoked by our Jaguars in a 27-0 drubbing in week two in 2006. The Central Minnesota Conference has three teams in the state tournament, with Rockford joining Eden Valley-Watkins and Pierz in the big show.
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