Step III: Jaguars clinch sub-section crown! (VIDEOS)

After Paige Rupp had a match-ending kill, the Jaguars celebrate at mid-court after winning the sub-section title at Fergus Falls high school on November 4.

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team won 3-0 tonight over No. 2-seeded Wheaton/Herman-Norcross to advance to earn a fourth straight section championship berth. Game scores were 25-6, 25-17, 25-21. B-B-E is 23-7 overall and now champions of both the Central Minnesota Conference and also Sub-Section 6A-South. Rest assured: B-B-E is far from satisfied with those two titles in hand. The W/H-N Warriors finish 19-10 and were playing in their first sub-section finals match since 2016, when Underwood ended their season. That lack of playoff experience on this year's squad had to be a huge factor in how tonight's subsection finals played out. W/H-N's last appearance in a section final was in 2011, when they beat Underwood 3-2 in the Sub-Section 6A-South finals before their season ended at the hands of Ada-Borup and they finished 26-5. I don't have full records at my fingertips, but I believe W/H-N's last state tournament berth was in 2007.

Remember! The B-B-E Jaguars football team kicks off at 12:30 p.m. against Upsala/Swanville Area tomorrow at the FargoDome. LOTS OF ROOM for fans! Get some rest and get your butt up to Fargo in the morning!

In tonight's Sub-Section 6A-South volleyball finals...
In game one, the Jaguars led 2-0 on Tayjah Marthaler's ace serve. After W/H-N had an ace tip, the Warriors hit twice into the net for a 4-1 score. Little did anyone in the gym know that the Jaguars were very early in an incredible 16-0 run that knocked the wind out of the Warriors. After two kills made it 16-1, the Warriors had back-to-back ball handling errors to make the score 18-1. The Jaguars hit into the net for a side out, and W/H-N's Brylie Schultz had an ace block to make the score 18-3. Brooklyn Fischer and Emily Kern had back-to-back kills, and an ace serve from Kailey Fischer made it 21-3. Ava Mueller had two kills down the stretch in B-B-E's convincing 25-6 win. At that point, W/H-N looked completely outmatched...but that would eventually change.

**Here's video from tonight featuring the B-B-E player introductions and then the opening stages of a one-sided game one:


**Here's a video featuring the final points scored in game one tonight against W/H-N:


The shell-shocked Warriors struggled from the onset of game two and quickly trailed 8-0. The Jaguars were relentless in their attack and made the most of every W/H-N error. Three straight B-B-E errors made it 9-3, but W/H-N then had a net violation for a side out. Three straight kills from Mueller jolted the Jaguars back to life. Brooklyn Fischer's ace serve capped a 3-0 run that put the Jaguars up 16-5. W/H-N then scored 7 of the next 8 points thanks largely to B-B-E errors. After the Jaguars had consecutive hitting errors, Coach Breitbach called a timeout with her team ahead 17-12. The Jaguars had the edge down the stretch and won 25-17 with two late kills by Brooklyn Fischer helping to make the difference.

W/H-N had two early one-point leads in game three before the Jaguars shook off a 2-1 deficit with a 5-0 run that featured consecutive ace attacks by Abby Berge. The Jaguars built leads of 10-4 and then 16-6 before W/H-N went on a 4-0 run. Two straight W/H-N errors put the Jaguars up 22-14, but the Warriors then scored 5 of the next 6 points to make it interesting. Late kills by Emily Kern and Paige Rupp ended the game with B-B-E on their way to the section finals with a 25-21 win.

This marks the fourth year in a row (seasons with playoffs) that the volleyball team will play in a sub-section title match. They played in the Sub-Section 5A-South finals in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and won the crown each year. B-B-E now has 19 sub-section volleyball final appearances in school history. The B-B-E Jaguars athletic program was founded in 1988 with the merger of the Belgrade-Elrosa Redmen and the Brooten Buccaneers programs. Those two programs were very strong in their own right, and the merged program has been even stronger. The Jaguars first made it to a sub-section final in 1994 under Coach Carrie Halvorson. She also brought the Jaguars to the finals in 1997, when they won the Sub-Section 5AA-20 title before losing in the Region 5 semifinals to Delano. The Jaguars also played in sub-section finals in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Here's a video clip recorded during the pre-match drills, including some footage of the B-B-E Pep Band:



The 10th-ranked Jaguars advance to Saturday's Section 6A finals match as slight underdogs to face No. 1-seeded and No. 6-state ranked Breckenridge (28-2). That match begins at 7 p.m. back at Fergus Falls high school (on November 6). Breckenridge is the real deal: tall, quick, deep. Winners of six straight, they are stacked with senior-led talent and will be a very tough challenge for our Jaguars. They defeated No. 2-seeded Henning 3-2 in the Sub-Section 6A-North finals by scores of 17-25, 34-32, 21-25, 25-18, 15-5 in a match that lasted 2 hours and 8 minutes.

Breckenridge's only losses of the year were to Hawley in the final Heart O' Lakes Conference match and then to Pequot Lakes in the Fergus Falls tournament on October 21. Camryn 'Killer' Kaehler is their feature go-to player, but she is one of many threats on Breckenridge's formidable front line. Kaehler is a 5'10" senior outside hitter who had 22 kills in their playoff opener and then 20 more in last Friday's semifinal win. Earlier this season, Kaehler broke the Breckenridge school record for career kills. Kaehler is No. 9 in their lineup, and in video I shot tonight, she was hammering it down across the entire 2-hour match. In game five, she showed no signs of letting up, and her hitting was a big part of why Henning wilted in the final set, a 15-5 loss.

**Here's a video from late in game three of the Sub-Section 6A-North title match tonight; the No. 2-seeded Hornets took this game by a 25-21 score to go up 2 to 1 in sets over the state-rated Cowgirls:


Other area volleyball playoff results from November 4:
In Sub-Section 3AA-North, the Paynesville Area Bulldogs swept neighboring rival New London-Spicer 25-20, 25-19, 25-19. They advance to the Section 3AA finals for the first time in school history. They finished in third place in the Central Minnesota Conference and are having a spectacular season. Standing in the way for Paynesville to the state tournament is Sub-Section 3AA-South champion Jackson County Central. The JCC Huskies beat No. 2-seeded Luverne 25-18, 25-20, 25-21 in their title match.

In Section 5AA, Maple Lake went the distance with Watertown-Mayer in the semifinals but lost 3-2. Maple Lake, the No. 4 seed, finishes the season 19-10. I was really hoping they could have punched through their section and advance to the state tournament. Watertown-Mayer was the No. 1 seed and won by scores of 27-25, 25-21, 20-25, 23-25, 15-9. No. 2-seeded Annandale won 25-23 25-15 25-23 in the other section semifinal over No. 6-seeded Maranatha Christian Academy to advance to the section finals.

In the Section 3A Final Four round, juggernaut Minneota ended Canby's season with a 3-0 sweep. Game scores were unavailable tonight. The Vikings will face Tracy-Milroy-Balaton in the Section 3A championship match. The T-M-B Panthers won a 3-2 barn burner at Southwest Minnesota State University tonight by game scores of 20-25, 25-14, 25-22, 23-25, 15-12.

In Section 6AA, Sauk Centre defeated St. Cloud Cathedral in the semifinals in a 3-0 sweep by game scores of 25-14, 25-21, 25-19. The Crusaders were the No. 5 seed, while Sauk Centre is the No. 1 seed. No. 2-seeded Pequot Lakes won 25-12, 25-12, 25-21 in the other section semifinal over No. 6-seeded Milaca.

In Sub-Section 5A-South, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley ended Browerville's season with a 3-0 sweep by scores of 25-20, 25-10, 25-13 at Crosby-Ironton high school. Browerville was having a season for the ages and entered tonight's match with a record of 24-2. The W-H-A Wolves improved to 27-5 overall. They were champions of the Northland Conference with a 7-0 record. Pine River-Backus beat Braham in the Sub-Section 5A-North championship by a 3-0 margin and game scores of 25-18, 25-16, 25-21.

More to come in the morning. Mobile Command Central is getting the job done, but it has been a long, long day. Time for some rest.

*Friday morning update! Packing up at the hotel and heading to Fargo soon. The football game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood (also on their website)