Playoffs! Step I = Sub-Section quarterfinal win for the Jaguar volleyball team!

Brittany Roelike hugged and hoisted Kendra Braegelman in the air right after the Jaguars earned match point in a 15-9 game five win. Kendra knocked down the game and match-winning kill to end the Osakis volleyball team's season.

What a scene full of emotion! A handful of Jaguars are shown celebrating the game five win.

Footage from game one!


The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team won game five by a 15-9 score. What a grandiose battle it was!

Osakis finishes a sparking conference championship season (9-1 Prairie North record) with a final overall record of 21-8. They are no doubt a team with the talent and firepower to win close to half of the Class A sub-sections in Minnesota.

Finally, three hours after the match ended, I have my clip from the end of the match uploaded and added to the Sauk Centre Herald website: http://saukherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=94&SubSectionID=381&NewsVideoID=165

One telling comment came from someone who has had a front-row seat to the past two boys' basketball seasons. That person made the point that tonight's volleyball action brought an atmosphere that rivaled anything B-B-E has had in the last two winter seasons on that court. That is to take nothing away from the exciting games and packed, rowdy crowds who watched the Jaguars boys' basketball team on their home floor. It does reflect how absolutely fired up both the Osakis and B-B-E crowds were.

How about some props to the B-B-E parent/adult fan section? They were awesome! After a slow start, the B-B-E student section really got into it too, especially in game five. I am incredibly proud of every Jaguar who set foot in that gymnasium tonight.

The Jaguars (23-7) now get Bertha-Hewitt out of the Park Region Conference in the Sub-Section 5A-West semifinal, which is next Tuesday, October 30 in Long Prairie at 7:30pm. The Bears (21-8-1, 4-2 Park Region, third place) prevailed over fellow conference rival Verndale by 25-21, 25-10, 22-25, 25-17 scores. Bertha-Hewitt faced Osakis on September 8th in pool play at the Browerville tournament and beat the Silverstreaks 2-0 by 25-12, 25-23 scores. They have one player, Arei Stokes, who has played on the varsity team since 7th grade. She is no doubt motivated to beat the Jaguars if nothing else because her volleyball season ended at the hands of B-B-E in 2008, 2009 and 2010. All three years during that stretch, the Jaguars and Bears faced off in the sub-section championship.

Sebeka faces Upsala in the other sub-section semifinal match. This is the first year in recent memory that the sub-section tournament features cross-bracketing, which not only makes for a better tournament but it makes it more likely a team will face an unfamiliar opponent in round two. It makes it more likely that the best teams meet in the sub-section championship. (The downside, we lose a home playoff match...but I'm not complaining. The Long Prairie-Grey Eagle high school is only 38 miles away from the B-B-E high school.)


This is incredible! It shows what type of night it was. I took 291 photos at the volleyball match. I don't think I've ever shot over 150 pictures in a volleyball playoff opener.

Check this out: Red Rock Central 3, Westbrook-Walnut Grove 1 (#7 seed beats the #2 seed in Sub-Section 3A-South) ...upsets do happen! W-WG compiled a 22-6 regular season record, including a 9-1 mark in the Red Rock Conference (2nd)...eerily similar to B-B-E's regular season record of 22-7. The Chargers lost to a conference rival who finished 5th in their conference and had a 13-12 overall record. I am guessing they are pretty much numb tonight with a shocking 0-1 playoff record.

Osakis almost put the Jaguars in that same situation. Thankfully that didn't happen, and B-B-E advances out of the first round of playoffs for the 14th straight year!

Sub-Section 5A-West quarterfinal round volleyball results:
Upsala 3, Eden Valley-Watkins 0
Sebeka 3, Browerville 0
Bertha-Hewitt 3, Verndale 1 (Verndale finishes 18-9-4 overall)

Area volleyball playoff scores on Oct. 26:
Melrose Area 3, Pierz 0
Sauk Centre 3, Little Falls 0
Albany Area 3, Holdingford 0
LP-GE 3, Minnewaska Area 0
New London-Spicer 3, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 1
Montevideo 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 1 (#6 seed beats #3 seed in a battle of long-time conference rivals)
Benson 3, Redwood Valley 0
Litchfield 3, Paynesville Area 0
CMCS 3, Wabasso 0
Dawson-Boyd 3, MACCRAY 2 (Wolverines lost game five 16-14; they won game four 29-27!)