Step II: Jaguars earn sweep over Park Christian (VIDEOS)

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team is moving on in the Section 6A playoffs! It never, EVER gets old!

A 3-0 sweep was the result tonight as the Jaguars hosted a quarterfinal match against a very good Park Christian team. In the middle of the opening set, the Jaguars had to fight back from being down 15-13 and 16-14. They later trailed 21-20 before running the table on the Falcons in a 25-21 win.

Here's a video from the middle of tonight's opening set:


And the finish in game one!

Here's the final points scored in game 1 tonight:


And the next two sets...
The Jaguars finished out the sweep with 25-12, 25-17 wins.

Here's video from early in game 2 tonight:


In game two, the Jaguars had an early 5-0 run that started on a kill by Macey Roering and also included 3 kills by Kacey Fischer. The Jaguars led 12-5 on a kill from Mya Worms, and from there, the lead expanded to 18-6 before the Falcons called for a timeout. Park Christian was overwhelmed down the stretch, and the Jaguars essentially named the score in a 25-12 win.

In game three, the Falcons put up a fight early and kept it close with deficits of 6-3 and 9-6. With Makenna Roelike on the service line, the Jaguars rattled off a string of points. Back-to-back ace serves by Roelike made it a 15-6 lead. Kills from Worms and Roering pushed it to 17-7, and the Falcons were unable to come up with much late in the set.

Some light match statistics:
The Jaguars had a strong 24.8 hitting percentage on 117 attacks. Kamie Fischer guided the offense with 36 set assists plus 9 digs and 2 block assists. Kenna Lieser piled up a team-high 15 digs, and she and Macey Roering each had 2 ace serves. Josie Buckentine was 13-of-13 at the service line with one ace, and Roelike also didn't miss at the service line on 9 serving attempts.

More to come. Additional video is uploading, and my match notes are being reviewed! Also, before I get to deep into writing this blog post, I am very anxious to do some research on B-B-E's next opponent.

Park Christian finishes the season 16-9 overall. They were an extremely worthy opponent and challenged the Jaguars with outstanding athleticism that made for a great defense. They did not get the needed touches at the net to slow B-B-E's attack.

Please spread the word! Now it gets even MORE real! The next stop is Kennedy high school at Fergus Falls! NEXT: the Jaguars (22-6) make the 90-mile trip to Ottertail County to face Hillcrest Lutheran Academy on Tuesday, October 28 with first serve at 6 p.m.

The Hillcrest Lutheran Academy Comets won 3-0 against No. 12-seeded Lake Park-Audubon tonight. They tied for first place in the Little Eight Conference with Parkers Prairie. Last season, HLA went 27-4 overall and won the Sub-Section 6A-North title before losing 3-0 to West Central Area in the Section 6A finals.

The Comets have 6 seniors: libero Chloe Walkup, Ruby Walkup, Natalie Maggert, co-captain Kenzie Miller, co-captain Ella Knutson and Maddie Miller.

Here's a terrific post-match interview with senior Ava Lieser; she gave a marvelous review of pre-match rituals for her team:


Thank you, Ava!

No word yet out of Parkers Prairie, where the No. 2-seeded Panthers were hosting Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley. In a noteworthy upset tonight, West Central Area defeated Breckenridge in Breckenridge in a 3-0 sweep. The Knights trailed 23-22 in game two before pulling out a thrilling 26-24 win. They are the No. 6 seed, while the Cowgirls were the No. 3 seed.

Update...
At Parkers Prairie, the Panthers won 3-0 against C-G-B. The Wolverines finish 18-6 overall. They tied for third place with Battle Lake in the Little Eight Conference.

The Section 6A Final Four volleyball brackets are set!
The section final four will be on Tuesday, October 28 at Kennedy High School in Fergus Falls. Let's start rallying for a huge crowd in Fergus that night! It will basically be a home match for Hillcrest Lutheran Academy. We need to show the section teams just what kind of playoff punch that Jaguar Country can bring on the road!

At 6 p.m. on Tuesday: the Jaguars face Hillcrest Lutheran Academy in the first section semifinal. The Comets are very, very good and loaded with great talent in their junior and senior class. Overall, HLA is 23-6. Look for more details in a scouting report this weekend.
At 8 p.m. on Tuesday: No. 2-seeded Parkers Prairie (25-4) will face No. 6-seeded West Central Area (15-14) in the other semifinal.

Area volleyball playoff scores on October 24:
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 3, Paynesville Area 1
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 3, Montevideo 0
Sauk Centre 3, Royalton 0 (Royals finish 20-8 overall)
Frazee 3, Perham 2
Albany 3, Milaca 0
Willmar 3, Mankato East 0
Minnewaska Area 3, St. Cloud Cathedral 0
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 3, Red Rock Central 0
Rush City 3, Mora 0
PACT Charter 3, Kimball Area 1
Spectrum 3, Maple Lake 1
Eden Valley-Watkins 3, Litchfield 0
New London-Spicer 3, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 1
MACCRAY, Renville County West 1
Swanville 3, Ogilvie 0
Canby 3, Wabasso 0
Central MN Christian 3, Lakeview 1
Minneota 3, Yellow Medicine East 0