Making an impact at the college level...and volleyball news! (VIDEO)

Two former members of the No. 11-ranked B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team are making an impact at the next level with their respective college teams.

Emily Kern, B-B-E Class of 2022, is a junior on the No. 7-ranked St. Cloud State University Huskies women's volleyball team that has had a strong start to the 2024 season. Kern plays at the libero and defensive specialist positions. She had outstanding performances this weekend while her Huskies went 2-1 at Houghton, Michigan in an invitational hosted by Michigan Tech University. On Friday, Kern had 10 digs, three ace serves and three set assists against Findlay (a 3-1 win). On Saturday against Northern Michigan, Kern had a season-high 11 digs. Then on Saturday against Michigan Tech, Kern had 5 digs in SCSU's 3-1 win over the host school.

In their fourth match of the season, the SCSU Huskies were ranked No. 10 (Division II) but defeated No. 1-ranked Cal State LA in four sets: 25-15, 21-25, 25-11, 25-20 on September 7 at Coussoulis Arena in San Bernadino, CA to finish a four-match stretch at the Yotes Classic Showdown. In that marquee win, Kern had her first start of the season at defensive specialist and earned 9 digs.

Brooklyn Fischer, B-B-E Class of 2024, is a freshman middle hitter at St. Cloud Community and Technical College. The Cyclones are off to a 2-0 start to their conference schedule and have a 7-3 overall record. On Friday night against Rochester Community and Technical College in her team's 3-1 win, Fischer blistered the Yellowjackets with 17 kills on 39-of-55 hitting while earning four ace serves (with no service errors) plus 16 digs and four block assists. Her 55 attacks accounted for over one-third of her team's total attacks on the night. She is averaging a robust 19.1 percent hitting percentage and 3.38 kills per set. Through 10 matches, she has 115 kills and 11 ace serves. Just as impressive is her 3.56 digs per set figure (121 total digs) plus 25 block assists.

Beyond those two volleyball players, I know Ethan Spanier is a sophomore defensive lineman at North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton. He is a 2023 B-B-E graduate and was a key member of B-B-E's history-making 2021 state tournament team. The Wildcats were 2-1 in their first three contests. After a 2-0 start, they lost 40-26 to Minnesota West Community and Technical College on September 7 in Wahpeton.

A few other sports notes...and big volleyball news!
I still have a few videos to get to and upload from Friday night's game at Benson. Also, a rather robust sports section is being developed for the upcoming issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice! Also! I will expand this out tonight in a new blog post, but I'm THRILLED to report that the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team had a perfect record across five matches at Crosby-Ironton's Barb Neprud Invitational. They earned 2-0 wins in pool play against White Bear Lake, Pillager and Deer River. As one of four pool play winners, the Jaguars advanced to the playoff semifinals, where they defeated Ada-Borup West in straight sets. The Cougars, defending Pine to Prairie Conference champions and a perennial contender in Section 8A, entered the tournament with an 8-2 record. In the finals, the Jaguars then swept Swanville to improve to 15-2 overall. How about that! The Swanville Bulldogs are a contender this year in the Prairie Conference and had a 5-0 record before their trip to Crosby.

Here's a video from the end of game two in Thursday's win against Kimball:


This morning, I'm still on the "return trip" from a visit to Wisconsin. I will not get to recording my Friday Night Lights III podcast until tonight.

Don't forget! two big events today: the Fall Festival at Rustic Designs Flower Farm by Georgeville (that runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) plus the St. Donatus Catholic Church dinner at the Padua Pub (serving 11 to 1:30). All the details of those events have been advertised in The Voice. Please support our local events, as their advertising supports my Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper and its crazy busy sports department!

On the horizon...the annual Turkey Fest celebration is coming to Swift Falls on Saturday, September 21. You can read more by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/aclFC. Their advertisement was also in the September 12 newspaper issue. I highly recommend driving down for the parade, and if you get to town around 4:30 that afternoon, you can take in the turkey cook-off plus the parade.