Volleyball Clinches Share of Central Minnesota Conference Championship -- Tennis Duo Falls in Sub-Section Play -- Bell Earns All-CMC in Cross Country

The Jaguars volleyball team is 24-1, with a 6-0 record in the CMC. They have now won or shared the past three Central Minnesota Conference championships.

In Jaguars girls tennis action, the doubles team of Laura Johnson/Tia Braegelman lost two close, tough matches in the Sub-Section 5A-West Final Four round. Both are juniors, though, which gives high hopes for the two hard-nosed tennis players for the 2009 season.

At the 2008 CMC meet, held at the Kimball golf course, sophomore Grant Bell ran an excellent race in the 3.1-mile today, finishing in 5th place to earn an All-CMC trophy. He is the first Cross Country runner at B-B-E to earn an All-CMC award since 2005, when Nicole Sobiech placed 8th in the CMC meet that year.

CMC results:
Maple Lake won over Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, 25-16, 25-19, 29-27.
Eden Valley-Watkins beat Rockford 23-25, 25-27, 25-15, 25-18, 15-10.

Area volleyball results:
Paynesville def. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, 25-19, 25-21, 25-15
Good for the Bulldogs, a nice win for a struggling program.
Benson 3, Minnewaska Area 0
Osakis 3, Browerville 2 (15-11 win in game 5 for the Silverstreaks)
Sauk Centre defeated Albany, 23-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-19

For heaven's sakes...Check this out = Renville County West winning over Russel-Tyler-Ruthton (in Renville) 25-27, 25-12, 27-25, 25-27, 21-19. *** 21-19 in game five! Can you imagine what the atmosphere was at the Jaguars' high school in Renville during a 21-19 game five?

Noteworthy: Sebeka def. Bertha-Hewitt, 19-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-20, 15-9. Sebeka (20-4, 5-0 Park Region Conference) is one of the top teams in the north half of Section 5A. Bertha-Hewitt (20-6, 4-1 Park Region Conference) is the 2nd-ranked team in the south half, and appear to be the Jaguars' main competition for a fifth straight sub-section crown.

Coming up, my favorite night of the week, FRIDAY! And with that comes Friday Night Lights Part VII. I'm nothing less than jacked about the last 2 games of the regular season for the Jaguars. I hope they come out firing on all cylinders to wrap up a .500 regular season. It would be the first time since 1997 that a Jaguars football team finished with more than 2 regular season wins.

In two "early" games for Week 7...
Dawson-Boyd hosted Adrian tonight in a Little Sioux Conference battle. It wasn't much of a battle, though, as the host Blackjacks turned a 28-7 lead into a 48-13 whipping over the Dragons. Dawson-Boyd is 6-1, and they host a very good Maccray team next week to close out their season. My guess is that Maccray will beat the Blackjacks, and they will finish 6-2 with the 2-seed for the playoffs.

Minneota pounded a bad Murray County Central team 52-0. They appear on a mission, and they are 7-0 going into the final week of the regular season. They are the top-ranked team in Section 5A. I predict they will be the #1-seed in the playoffs.

I'll finish by saying the following: The Jaguars MUST win their final two regular season games. They've got the horses to do that. If they finish 4-4, they will host a Section 5A quarterfinal game. If they split their final two games, they will open playoffs on the road. A 3-5 record means a #5-seed, possibly #6. That would be a big disappointment to coaches, players, and fans alike.

We need a big crowd in Kimball. Cheer loud, cheer proud, and carry the banner! Go Jaguars!

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