Step V: Jaguars win in four sets at STATE!

UPDATE: this blog post is getting a major makeover as of 23:00 (Army time) tonight. I have a mountain of match notes to comb through while being jacked on adrenaline! This high is gonna go well past midnight.

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team won 25-17 in game four today to advance to the Class 1A state Final Four! That final set became lopsided at times, and the Jaguars racked up 16 kills with just 1 attack error on 33 attacks for a whopping 45.5 percent hitting. It was an INCREDIBLE match that played out at Grand Casino Arena, formerly the Xcel Energy Center. The program improves to 6-14 overall in all state tournament appearances. This dates back to 2005, in case anyone was wondering! What an incredible 20-year ride it has been!

In the first set, the Jaguars were out-hit by a razor-thin margin: 21.7 percent to 21.3 percent. In spite of that, they prevailed 25-22.

In game two, the Jaguars had to work to overcome a deficit as wide as 7 points. They pulled it to a 24-24 tie before the Clippers scored the last 2 points to even the match at one set apiece.

In game three, the Jaguars won 25-15 after they rocketed out to an initial lead of 6-0.

Here's the final points scored in game 3:


To overcome an inspired, determined Cleveland team that had won 15 straight coming into today (last losses were on September 20), the Jaguars had to figure out Melia Sathoff. Sathoff is a 5'11" outside hitter who did considerable damage from the left side. She was outstanding in the back row as well, using her length to pull out numerous digs. Cleveland's Taylor McCabe unleashed 70 attacks on the Jaguars, and she led the Clippers with 23 kills (12.9% hitting). She is a 5'9" junior outside/middle. McCabe and Sathoff are the REAL deal. I cannot fathom the work those two will put in during the offseason as they prepare for the fall of 2026. For now, Cleveland will do damage in the consolation bracket of state. I predict they will do well while improving on their 26-7 overall record.

NEXT: the Jaguars (25-6) play in the state semifinals at 1 p.m. They face defending state champion and top-seeded Mayer Lutheran for a shot at advancing to the state finals. Tonight, Mayer Lutheran won 25-18, 25-17, 25-19 against No. 8-seeded North Woods in the other quarterfinal on our side of the bracket.

How game one played out:
Things did not start well for the Jaguars in their first state appearance since 2022. A kill by Kacey Fischer tied it at 1-1, but the Clippers continued with the momentum they earned in a 3-2 win against state-ranked Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart to claim the Section 2A title. Cleveland had 3 straight kills that were followed by B-B-E's attack error and another Clippers kill to give the No. 5 seed a 6-1 lead. Kadynce Haider's kill followed by her assisted block with Kamie Fischer gave the Jaguars 2 valuable points to stop the bleeding. A Cleveland hitting error plus a kill into a block by Mya Worms got it down to one point, and Kamie Fischer's ace serve tied it at 6-all.

B-B-E's night at Grand Casino Arena featured 165 attacks, while Cleveland had 155 attacks. Just one Cleveland hitter surpassed 15 percent hitting, and that was Sathoff with 17.4 percent efficiency with just 5 misses in 46 attacks. B-B-E had four hitters over 15 percent on those with more than 10 attacks: Macey Roering (26.9% with 8 kills), Kacey Fischer (15.5% with 19 kills), Teagan Dingmann (19.4% with 10 kills) and Kadynce Haider (34.8% with 11 kills).

Kamie Fischer had 41 set assists, 134 total sets, 4 kills, 9 digs plus a team-high 4 ace serves on 18-of-20 serving. Roering had a team-high 22 digs. Others who came up big in the back row were libero Kenna Lieser (12 digs) plus Kacey Fischer and Kamie Fischer with 9 digs each.

A key statistic: the Jaguars had a solid 19.4 hitting percentage, while the Clippers were held to 12.3 percent hitting. Cleveland entered the state tournament with a strong block, but they had just 2 block assists compared to 8 for B-B-E. The Clippers had 3 solo blocks, and the Jaguars had two.

A few other Cleveland notes...
Cleveland's libero, Delaney Thompson, led her team with 21 digs while also having perfect 18-for-18 serving plus 4 set assists. The setter for the Clippers, Jocelyn Kortuem, had 36 set assists guiding their 5-1 offense.

And a short postmatch video!


After the match, during the postgame interview, Coach Brittany Borgerding spoke about how the Jaguars practiced this week for Cleveland's style of attack. They knew what was coming.

UPSET alert: on the other side of the Class 1A state bracket, No. 6-seeded Ada-Borup West (24-8) earned a 3-1 win over No. 3-seeded Fillmore Central by scores of 27-25, 25-23, 13-25, 26-24. This occurred during one of the 7 p.m. matches, and I had already arrived at my Uncle Kim's place in Andover by the time that match concluded. I am anxious to see how Ada-Borup West does in the semifinals, when they take on No. 2-seeded Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (29-5) tomorrow afternoon. The Ada-Borup West Cougars faced our Jaguars in the Alexandria Invitational on October 4 during the opening match that day. Against the Cougars, the Jaguars won 22-22, 19-25, 15-9.

On the QRF rankings, Ada-Borup West is No. 14 in Class 1A; Fillmore Central is No. 2 on that same power rankings scale.

More to come.


THANK YOU to the Bonanza Valley State Bank and Belgrade Co-op for sponsoring this state tournament blog post!