Brainerd High School turns into House of Horrors - Jaguars Volleyball goes down in flames, 3-0 loss to Nevis in section title match

The Jaguars volleyball team ended another outstanding season with a final overall record of 27-6. They were ranked #7 in the final three state ranking polls of the season in Class A. The program has now been continuously ranked in the state polls since August 2005, when the pre-season poll came out with them at #8 in Class AA. That itself is nothing short of incredible, for a school that has not qualified a team for the state tournament in any other sport.

The Jaguars also received votes in the AA polls for a short period of time in the 2003 season, when they finished 25-4 after a loss to Albany in the 6AA-East finals. They were 23-3 in the regular season that year.

Nevis takes a 25-5 record into the Class A state tournament, which begins next Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center in St.Paul. They were ranked #15 in the last state ranking poll of the season, coming on October 27.

The 27 wins ties for third-best in B-B-E volleyball history.

The Jaguars won the conference title for the fourth year in a row, as well as winning their sub-section for the sixth year in a row.

Their ultimate goal of playing in the state tournament for the fourth time in team history was not achieved, however.

For anyone who didn't listen to the match or watch it, Nevis out-played the Jaguars in just about ever facet of the game, beginning with better serving and harder hitting. The Jaguars' serve-receive was out of sync the whole night, making it a long night for their passers and setter Julie Hieserich.

The loss may go down as one of the most shocking losses in school history, one that nobody saw coming. One that is comparable would be the 2006 loss to Montevideo in the Section 6AA final - a year after the Jaguars made their first state tournament berth and had most of the team return.

On a side note, B-B-E is now 3-13 overall in section championship appearances in all sports. They've put teams in section finals in girls basketball (1995, 2005), boys basketball (1997, 1998, 2004, 2005), wrestling (1998, 1999), football (1997), and volleyball (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009).

**A fun side note: It was reported by Smooth Magic 107 that 25 listeners dialed in their internet to listen to the Jaguars Volleyball team's section final match on their computer tonight. Even more listened on Thursday night when they played Bertha-Hewitt, with around 35 tuning in via the world wide web. For reference, their peak was 50 listeners through the Smooth Magic 107 website during the memorable Windom match in the 2008 state semi-finals. That is the maximum number who can listen, due to internet bandwidth restrictions from their Glenwood studio.

The website for Smooth Magic 107 is: http://www.kmgk1071.com/

The New London-Spicer Wildcats advance to the state tournament for the first time since 1998 with a 3-0 sweep over Sauk Centre in the Section 6AA championship this afternoon. Game scores were 25-15, 25-18, 25-20. NL-S also made the state tournament in 1993.

NL-S is 31-1 overall, by far the most wins in school history. They were ranked #9 in the latest Class AA state poll.

Section 3AA final:
Marshall 3, Montevideo 0

Section 3A final:
Minneota 3, Windom Area 0

Section 4A final:
Meadow Creek Christian 3, Mayer Lutheran 2

Section 6A final:
Parkers Prairie 3, Norman County East 1

Section 2AA final:
LeSueur-Henderson 3, Hutchinson 2

Section 5AA final:
Delano 3, Maple Lake 0

Section 8AA final:
Wadena-Deer Creek 3, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 1

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