extended sports coverage for the B-B-E community brought to you by the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper in Brooten, MN. (Address: P.O. Box 250, Brooten) http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. Please submit feedback in writing to the address posted above. **This is Minnesota's oldest varsity high school sports blog. We hope to keep it going into the future!
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Mainstreeters have edge in border battle
It was the Mainstreeters in four sets.
After a lackluster performance in the first two sets, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team found themselves in a position where they had to run the table to pick up a border battle win at Sauk Centre on Monday night.
Sauk Centre, a team loaded for bear with 8 seniors, won game one 25-15 and game two 25-13. In game three, the Jaguars had a much better start than they had in the first two sets and carried that momentum to a 25-22 win. They quickly fell into an 8-2 deficit in game four, and a late rally couldn't save them in a 25-18 loss.
Cool 9 percent hitting was a factor in the loss. Sauk Centre was tough to tip against, and attacks regularly needed to cut an angle through the blocks to find open spots in the corners. Junior outside Macey Roering led the Jaguars with a robust 15-kill performance on 12.8 percent hitting and a whopping 47 total attacks. The Jaguars managed 5 solo blocks, two each by seniors Kamie Fischer and Mya Worms.
No. 10-ranked (Coaches Association) B-B-E falls to 5-6 overall as they prepare for a home conference match with Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City on Thursday this week.
The Mainstreeters move to 12-2 overall and are currently the No. 3-ranked team in a tough Section 6AA. In the state polls, Sauk Centre stands at No. 7 in Class 2A. They don't have a particularly tall lineup for a Class 2A school, but a large array of 5'9" and 5'10" hitters were able to mount an effective block. In the back row, they were tough as nails with scrappy defense that's typical of Jim Klaphake-coached teams.
MARK your calendars! Lions Fish Fry!
The Belgrade Lions invites everyone to their upcoming fish fry night at The Spot in downtown Belgrade. They will be serving all-you-can eat fish from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Meal prices: $12 for adults and for kids ages 10 and under it's $7. Serving: fish, baked beans, potato salad, bread. A Lions meat raffle also takes place starting at 5 p.m., and the Lions fall raffle drawing will take place at 9 p.m. at the same location that night. Proceeds from this event will go towards the Belgrade city park bathroom and shelter project. This event was advertised in the September 17 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, and the ad will continue through these next two weeks leading up to the event.
On Tuesday night...
I have been severely distracted from getting the newspaper completed by news of a double-homicide at Rau Park in Willmar late last night. This is a location sitting between KWLM Radio (Lakeland Broadcasting) and the Kandiyohi County Fairgrounds. My mind is blown! For the 2022 county fair, I parked our minivan right at this park. This news is insane. A third victim has initially survived being shot. The news is still unfolding...
Area volleyball scores on September 21:
New London-Spicer 3, Annandale 2 (the Wildcats survive a stiff Wright County West challenge from a Cardinals team that entered the match 6-6 overall; they are 14-0 overall)
Royalton 3, Osakis 0
Kimball Area 3, Maranatha Christian 0
Holdingford 3, Swanville 0
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 3, Lake Park-Audubon 1
Pine River-Backus 3, Sebeka 2
Bertha-Hewitt 3, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 1
Hancock 3, Dawson-Boyd 0
Paynesville Area 3, Benson 2 (Bulldogs are 8-6 overall)
Underwood 3, Barnesville 1
Girls' tennis does battle at conference tournament, volleyball sweeps Huskers (VIDEOS)
The B-B-E Jaguars girl's tennis team traveled to the massive 10-court complex at Osakis high school today for the Prairie Conference tournament. At No. 1 doubles, Hannah Wurm and Harper Herickhoff played the match of their life in their tournament opener. After holding leads of 3-2 and 4-3 in the first set, they suffered a tough 7-5 loss. In the second set, they came on strong after holding early leads of 2-1 and 3-2 to win convincingly by a 6-2 score and force a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, a Pro 10 set, the game was a neck-and-neck all the way to the end. The St. John's Prep doubles team came away with a 11-9 win to advance to the winner's bracket semifinals.
Here's a video from early in the first set of that doubles match:
Here's action from late in the first set of that No. 1 doubles match:
Hannah Wurms, a junior, and Harper Herickhoff, an eighth grader, ultimately finished with fifth place at the tournament.
Other tennis information is forthcoming. Also, additional football and volleyball videos are being uploaded to be shared. Next: the girls' tennis team hosts Yellow Medicine East next Monday at 4:30 p.m. in a non-conference match.
In volleyball news...
At Holdingford, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team evened their record at 5-5 with a 3-0 sweep of the Huskers in Central Minnesota Conference action. They're now 2-0 in the CMC, in which they are currently a five-time defending champion.
Game scores at Holdingford were 25-19, 25-17, 27-25. The Jaguars had 14.5 percent hitting with 37 kills on 131 attacks. Junior outside Macey Roering had 12 kills on 23 percent hitting, and Laken Anderson powered over 10 kills o 27 percent hitting. Kamie Fischer (20 set assists) and Reese Kampsen (11 set assists) guided the offense.
Next: the volleyball team travels to Sauk Centre next Monday for a big border battle with the state-ranked Mainstreeters.
Here's a video from the 3rd quarter of the WCA game last week:
The B-B-E Jaguars football teamhosts Upsala/Swanville Area tomorrow night for Week 3 action.
Get a load of this! Tonight, Holdingford hosted Eden Valley-Watkins in their Week 3 game. The Huskers were all over the Eagles and won 24-2 to improve to 3-0 this season. EV-W, who lost last week 55-0 to Minneota, is now 1-2. Holdingford, who went 12-1 last season and lost in the Class 2A state semifinals, has now won 11 straight regular season games.
ON FRIDAY: I have to travel to Glenwood for my 9:30 a.m. radio show and then attend the annual Waterfest activities with B-B-E's Class of 2033 students. That event is hosted at the Pope County Fairgrounds. It will be wet!
As for the football game...it is currently in limbo, and a decision will be made this afternoon (Friday) on whether or not it will be played tonight or tomorrow. The game may have an 11 a.m. kickoff on Saturday. Stay tuned.
Central MN Conference volleyball scores on September 17:
Kimball Area 3, Royalton 2
Paynesville Area 3, Maple Lake 0
Area volleyball scores on September 17:
Redwood Valley 3, Eden Valley-Watkins 1
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 3, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0
Volleyball Jaguars at Southwest Minnesota Challenge (VIDEOS)
The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team went 0-2 at the opening night of action at the Southwest Minnesota Challenge tournament in Marshall. In one of the matches, they split the first two sets. In the tiebreaker set, they held a 13-11 lead but lost 16-14. Other details are being sought out.
The Jaguars finished with a 1-4 record at Marshall. They lost by a 2-1 set margin to Class 4A Prior Lake in their first Friday match. In the last match last night, the Jaguars lost 2-0 to Sioux Falls Christian.
Today, the Jaguars faced Sioux Falls Roosevelt and earned a 2-1 win. They finished with 2-0 losses to No. 3-ranked Mayer Lutheran and Class 4A Eastview. Next: the Jaguars (3-5 overall) host Swanville in a non-conference match on Tuesday, September 15. The Bulldogs, 24-3 overall a year ago, are defending Prairie Conference champions and Section 5A runners-up.
How about the B-B-E football team!
And back to last night's thrilling win...the scoreboard for last night's games has been updated in the previous blog post. It includes the other 3 Mid-Northwest Gold District final scores.
Here's a video featuring the final plays of B-B-E's first scoring drive last night:
Also, a video from the second quarter of last night's football game was just posted to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website. That can be found by clicking here: BBEvsWCAfootball2026.
The Jaguars improved to 4-0 in the past four meetings with West Central Area.
Here's a postgame interview with Coach Moscho last night:
I'll repost that at a future date.
After studying the scores of the first two games with teams that the Jaguars face, I have a declaration: if the football team can draw 3 to 5 more players, consisting of players who quit the team this summer, I have full confidence that the Jaguars can have a 7-1 or 6-2 regular season. It is possible, but they have to have more depth. How can we make it happen? Playing with 22 players leads to having too many players going both ways. It's not the way you want to grind through a regular season of football. Think about it: the Jaguars have the talent this season to have another very special season!
Update: I learned that MSHSL rules suggest that if a player joined the team now, they would not be eligible for the postseason. That's a perfectly reasonable rule. I believe a kid can always join a team, but whether or not they can enjoy the spoils of that team's success is a different matter.
More to come later tonight. Tomorrow will be a busy day with the Bluegrass Festival at Terrace and the Fall Festival at Trinity Lutheran in Grove Lake. I hope you can make it to one or both of those events!
An incredible ending handed the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team an improbable 3-2 win over MACCRAY tonight in their second straight non-conference match. The Jaguars were in tough shape late in game five as they faced a steep, uphill climb in the form of a 14-11 deficit.
The Wolverines had a 4-1 run that lifted them ahead 6-5 in game five, but Macey Roering's kill tied it at 6-6. MACCRAY got traction in the form of a kill, an ace serve and an ace block to go up 9-6. Out of a B-B-E timeout, MACCRAY served long for a huge side out. The Wolverines got a kill, but Teagan Dingmann's kill made it a 10-8 score. MACCRAY's hitting error made it 10-9, and head coach Tory Brouwer called her first timeout of the set. Laken Anderson's kill tied it at 10-10, and Mya Worms had a kill to tie it at 11-11. MACCRAY then got two kills and an ace block to go up 14-11.
Roering buried a left side attack for a kill and a crucial side out that staved off defeat. On the next volley, Roering knocked an attack into a MACCRAY block attempt. The ball sailed out of bounds, but the referees held a conference to discuss whether or not the ball got across the net for an attack. The call held, and the Jaguars then trailed 14-13. Out of MACCRAY's final timeout, Roering hit another ace attack for a 14-14 tie.
On the next volley, Kamie Fischer knocked a direct attack over to the right corner. MACCRAY's pass was shanked, and the hitter was unable to recover it for an attack. This lifted the Jaguars in front 15-14 with four straight points scored. Teagan Dingmann then finished the match with an ace serve after she served the last four points of the night.
Game scores were 20-25, 26-24, 18-25, 25-8, 16-14. Hitting percentages for B-B-E across all five sets: negative 2.5 in game one, 24.5 in game two, 10.3 in game three, 36 in game four and 32 in game five.
Earlier in the match...
After getting demolished in game three and losing 25-18, the Jaguars regrouped and took it to the Wolverines with a 25-8 win that tied the match at two sets each.
Here's action featuring the final points scored in game four tonight:
B-B-E had small early leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 4-2 in the fifth set. After falling back 14-11, the Jaguars stormed back to claim a thrilling, roller coaster-like 16-14 win and even their record at 1-1. It also marked head coach Holly Breitbach's first career varsity win.
Here's the full video of game five:
B-B-E had 18 percent hitting tonight, which marked a significant improvement from the 4 percent hitting they had one week ago at New London-Spicer.
Next: the Jaguars travel to Kimball this Thursday for the Central Minnesota Conference opener. The Cubs are 4-1 overall after beating neighborhood rival Dassel-Cokato 3-2 tonight at D-C high school.
The Wolverines (1-2) now have back-to-back 3-2 losses heading into their Camden Conference opener, which is next Tuesday, September 15.
Business announcement: the last day of the season for the Jenniges Meat Chuckwagon is Friday, September 18. Please spread the word!
Jaguars take five-set road loss vs. Top 10 New London-Spicer (VIDEOS)
The storied bordering rivalry between the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball teamand New London-Spicer continued at the home of the Wildcats tonight. It did not disappoint! With a huge crowd cheering on both teams, the match went the distance lasting nearly 2 hours. In the July 29 preseason Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association poll, B-B-E was ranked No. 8 in Class 1A, while NL-S was rated No. 6 in Class 2A.
Here's the first video recorded tonight at NL-S:
That video begins with the score tied at 4-4 in game one.
Here's a video from later in game one, beginning as NL-S held an 18-14 lead:
After erasing that four-point deficit to force a 20-20 tie in game one, the Jaguars gave up four straight points to see NL-S take control with the Wildcats earning a kill and ace serve to go with consecutive B-B-E hitting errors. Teagan Dingmann had a kill for a side out, and the Wildcats then hit long to make it 24-22. Out of an NL-S timeout, senior setter Ezri Boelter hit her first kill of the night to give her team a 25-22 win.
Here's a video featuring action in game two, including the end:
The Jaguars won back-to-back sets in games two and three and brought strong momentum into game four. That faded, however, as the Wildcats brought a tremendous block in the fourth set while earning a 25-18 win. They were in command for nearly the entire fifth set and took the match with a 15-9 win.
Final: NL-S 3, B-B-E 2. Abysmal four percent hitting for the night was costly, with a total of 35 hitting errors on 176 attacks.
The Wildcats (5-0) were just coming off of earning the tournament title at the Albany Early Bird Invitational last Friday. They have 5 seniors on their roster, and they are going to make noise in the brutally tough Wright County West Conference while being one of the contenders in the Section 3AA playoffs in November.
Next for the volleyball team: the Jaguars continue on a non-conference slate while hosting MACCRAY next Tuesday, September 8.
Video is uploading, and more will be posted on Wednesday. It's time to finish out the September 3 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper and prepare it for the printing press.
Area volleyball scores on September 1:
Maple Lake 3, Litchfield 1
Paynesville Area 3, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 0
Adrian/Ellsworth 3, MACCRAY 2
Border West 3, Lac qui Parle Valley 0
BOLD 3, Melrose Area 2
Minnewaska Area 3, Sauk Centre 1 (a huge win for Minnewaska at Sauk Centre)
Let's enjoy more from STATE! (VIDEOS* and throwback video added**)
A giant stack of video and photos are waiting to be reviewed from the state volleyball tournament. What I have to comb through goes all the way back to last Wednesday's elementary pep fest. I've got close to 1,400 pictures taken since the first one taken at the elementary pep fest. Both pep fest albums have been uploaded, although they are not complete yet. They can be found at this link: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/BBE-Fall-Sports-2025. From the state quarterfinal match on Thursday, I've got 333 pictures in that album.
Here's a video featuring action from the state quarterfinals:
The video includes the final points scored in game three of the Cleveland win on Thursday night.
Here's a video from early in game 2 against Ada-Borup West:
That video begins while the Cougars held a 9-8 lead.
The welcome home ceremony held last night was enjoyable and emotional. The families of our coaches and players have much to be proud of! I could publish THREE newspapers this week without putting a small dent in my supply of pictures from Saint Paul. This was so much fun from start to finish!
AND HOW about a THROWBACK! This video below features multiple current members of the volleyball team...back when they were in 6th grade.
At the state volleyball pep fest on Wednesday, November 6, 2019!
The Pep Fest that day was held in the final hour of the morning just before noon. The lunch schedule was adjusted to allow for the team to depart for Saint Paul in the afternoon.
UPDATE on Monday night:
The B-B-E fall play is this weekend! Click here to read more at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://shorturl.at/cDOYB. Also, the play posters are going up around the towns on Tuesday and Wednesday!
Monday night is super busy with a school board meeting in the elementary and a Brooten city council meeting. Both start at 7 p.m.
In state football news...
During the Class 2A state quarterfinals, Holdingford defeated Barnesville 40-24 on Friday night at Brainerd high school. The Huskers, champions of Section 6AA, play next Friday, November 14 at 4:30 p.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium. Their opponent will be Goodhue, Section 4AA champions.
Section 5AA champion Eden Valley-Watkins defeated Moose Lake/Willow River 30-14 in their quarterfinal game played last Thursday at St. Cloud Apollo. In the Class 2A state semifinals, the Eagles play on Friday, November 14 at 9 a.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium. Their opponent will be Jackson County Central, champions of Section 3AA.
Step VII: JAGUARS WIN on final day of STATE! (VIDEOS, UPDATES)
This blog post will be updated again on Sunday during the Vikings-Ravens game.
The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team is bringing home bronze medals after finishing with a win at the Class 1A state tournament today. They defeated upstart Ada-Borup West in grand fashion, a 3-0 sweep, to finish an incredible season with a 26-6 record. They can be incredibly proud to start the season unranked and finish with the state third place trophy!
Game scores were 25-21, 25-18, 25-14.
Here's the post match medals/trophy ceremony today in Saint Paul:
During B-B-E's press conference yesterday after Mayer Lutheran overcame the Jaguars in the state semifinals, sophomore hitter Macey Roering spoke about the mindset held by the team after their terrific effort came up short in their bid to get to the championship, "It's really fun to be here. It's still okay, we're gonna bounce back. We're still having fun here."
That positive mindset translated into a monster effort against No. 6-seeded Ada-Borup West this afternoon. The Cougars already had one big upset in the tournament when they defeated No. 3-seeded Fillmore Central 3-1 in Thursday's quarterfinals. They never got on track against B-B-E, who put up a strong block and used their quick offense to make it difficult for Ada-Borup West's back row.
Here's action from game one today against the Cougars:
The video begins with the Jaguars holding a 13-8 lead.
How game one played out today...
B-B-E gained an early 2-0 lead on Macey Roering's ace serve, and a kill by Kadynce Haider broke a 3-all tie. A kill from Mya Worms broke a 4-all tie, but two Jaguar hitting errors brought a 7-all tie. Two Roering kills helped push the Jaguars in front 13-8. After Ada-Borup West's first timeout was called, each team scored 5 points. Roering had a kill down the left line, and the Cougars called their final timeout trailing 18-13. Kamie Fischer's kill later made it 22-18. The Cougars had a late push to cut the gap to 23-21, which was the closest they got.
How game 2 played out today...
B-B-E had a great response to the start of game two after the Cougars got the first point on a Jaguar service error. That 1-0 score represented Ada-Borup West's first lead of the day. Kacey Fischer's kill made it a 4-1 lead, but the Jaguars went into a brief let down to fall behind 7-5. In that stretch, a back row kill from Macey Roering was all they got. Two Cougars errors tied the set, and Roering's kill put the Jaguars back in front with an 8-7 lead.
Two B-B-E errors lifted the Cougars back in front with a 9-8 score, but that was short-lived when Roering's cross court kill put her team ahead 10-9. A kill by Worms made it 12-9, and the Cougars called a timeout. Ada-Borup West showed a good response to that break to cut it to one point. The Jaguars response halted that two-point rally with a kill by Roering and a solo block by Teagan Dingmann. Back-to-back Dingmann kills, a joint block by Dingmann and Kamie Fischer plus a Roering ace serve put the Cougars on their heels. They called their final timeout trailing 18-12.
B-B-E's lead grew to 20-13, but Ada-Borup West's front line came to life with 3 straight kills. A Cougars hitting error brought a side out, and Kamie Fischer's ace serve made it 22-15. Ahead 23-18, Kamie Fischer's kill and Kenna Lieser's ace serve gave B-B-E a 25-18 win. B-B-E's block was impressive, and they held the Cougars to negative 4.1 percent hitting on 49 attacks with just 9 kills. B-B-E had 9.3 percent hitting with 10 kills on 43 attacks.
How game 3 played out today...
Another hot start helped the Jaguars gain control early in game three. Two Dingmann kills, a Roering ace serve and a kill by Kacey Fischer made it 4-1. Kacey Fischer hit 5 straight kills, the latter two coming after a Cougars timeout, for a 9-2 lead.
Ada-Borup West got a couple kills but then had two net violations as they showed signs of disarray. Worms added to their problems with two straight kills for a 13-6 lead. Roering's ace serve forced the Cougars to call their final timeout as they trailed 17-8. Josie Buckentine's ace serve, a joint block from Haider and Kamie Fischer and a Kacey Fischer kill extended the lead to 21-9. Late kills from Haider and a kill by Roering helped bring game and match point. A Cougars hitting error ended the match, sending the Jaguars into an excited sequence of jumping, cheering and hugging with the third-place achievement in their hands.
In the 3rd set, the Cougars had solid 18.2 percent hitting, but they were doubled up on that by the Jaguars, who had 44.4 percent hitting, an 18-9 advantage in kills with just 2 misses in 36 total attacks. Just 2 Ada-Borup West hitters earned kills in the 3rd set, while the Jaguars had 5 players with 2 or more kills. Kacey Fischer had 10 of her 16 kills in the set. Overall, the Jaguars had 22.5 percent hitting to 5.5 percent by the Cougars.
B-B-E kill totals: Kacey Fischer 16, Macey Roering 11, Kadynce Haider 5, Mya Worms 5, Teagan Dingmann 4, Kamie Fischer 3. Roering racked up 4 ace serves, Kamie Fischer had 37 set assists and Kenna Lieser led the back row with 14 digs.
Saturday afternoon announcements...
The welcome-home ceremony will take place TONIGHT at the high school in Belgrade between 6 and 7 p.m. The exact time is up in the air right now. Stay tuned.
In the Class 1A state championship this afternoon, Mayer Lutheran won 25-17 in game one against Russell-Tyler-Ruthton. UPDATE: in game two, Mayer Lutheran holds a 21-11 lead.
In the Class 2A state volleyball tournament, New London-Spicer lost in a sweep yesterday to Southwest Christian (a Metro private school) to finish a fine season 17-12 overall. The Wildcats, 3-5 in the Wright County West Conference in a tie for fifth place, earned a repeat trip to state after suffering huge graduation losses last spring.
Today, in the Class 2A third-place match, New Life Academy of Woodbury defeated Albany. That's all I have for information.
In the Class 1A state consolation championship match, Fillmore Central swept Cleveland by scores of 25-22, 25-22, 25-14 to claim fifth place.
In the Class 1A state finals: Mayer Lutheran defeated R-T-R in a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-15, 25-23). The Knights (30-6) put up a terrific fight in the final set, but it was not enough to overcome a richly talented Crusaders squad. R-T-R was gunning for another state title after they won their school's first volleyball state championship in 2023. In today's meeting with Mayer Lutheran, the Knights were held to just 3.5 percent hitting. The Crusaders had 4 players who had between 9 and 12 kills. Today's state finals loss was the first time R-T-R experienced losing since September 19.
I won't get more on this blog post until later tonight! Now it's time to get some interviews done here at Grand Casino Arena. We've all gotta watch the clock to plan for the drive home!
ANNOUNCEMENT: the welcome home should start at approximately 6:30 p.m. at the High School...Belgrade. I would arrive a little before that, my advice. Time to make tracks west!!!
Saturday night update:
Congratulations to B-B-E senior Kacey Fischer, who was named to the 10-player Trustone FCU All-Tournament team today at Grand Casino Arena.
Second-year head coach Brittany Borgerding finishes the season with a 52-11 overall record. She was a varsity player for Coach Kevin Weller during the 2010 to 2012 seasons. Borgerding, daughter of Joel and Joyce Roelike of Lake Henry, is a 2013 B-B-E graduate. She was also a key player on current head girls' basketball coach Kristina Anderson's first team.
Here's a video featuring the introductions of the All-Tournament team:
That took place after the completion of the state championship match.
We are back in Ramsey County for the third straight day to support our B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team, as they gear up for the third-place match at the Class 1A state tournament! The Jaguars will be going to war against the Section 8A champion Ada-Borup West Cougars. These two teams have met multiple times in recent years at the Alexandria Cardinal Classic Invitational. It is going to be a terrific match!
I do not see radio coverage from Glenwood.
Here's my 11th fall sports show of the season! In St. Paul...
MATCH UPDATES...
Game one: BBE 25, Cougars 21.
Game 2 will start at 12:53.
Game 2 final score: BBE 25, Ada-Borup West 18. The Cougars led 9-7 early on. Game 3 starts at 13:19! LET'S GO!!!
In game 3, the Jaguars now hold a 17-8 lead.
MORE TO COME in a NEW blog post.
A welcome-home ceremony will take place at the high school between 6 and 7 p.m... Stay tuned for more details.
THANK YOU to Dani and her staff at Coop's Corner in Belgrade for sponsoring this Jaguar state tournament blog post!
Step VI: Jaguars suffer through difficult battle vs. defending state champions (UPDATES)
This blog post is getting a makeover between 10 and 11:15 a.m. on Saturday morning. Hopefully you are on your way to Saint Paul!
The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball teamwas on fire for 1 1/2 sets, but the defending state champion Mayer Lutheran Crusaders found a badly needed gear and rallied to take a 3-1 win in today's state semifinals.
In game one, the Jaguars stuck right with the vaunted Crusaders and had the top seed reeling in the early stages after Kacey Fischer dropped back-to-back ace serves for a 9-4 lead. While Mayer Lutheran kept pace with the Jaguars throughout that set, they never truly threatened the underdogs. B-B-E won 25-17 and finished the set with incredible 42.4 percent hitting, while Mayer Lutheran's figure was 18.9 percent.
Here's a video from later in game one today:
That video begins with the Jaguars holding an 18-14 lead.
In game two, with the Crusaders trailing 9-5, Mayer Lutheran head coach Joelle Grimsley called a timeout to rally her team. In the back of her mind, she felt they were in trouble. They had to adjust what was happening in the back row. Coach Grimsley told her players that they were getting out-hustled in a bad way. What followed was a night-and-day difference. The Crusaders rallied for a 14-0 run to take firm control of the game. After the Jaguars fell behind 19-9, they played even to the end in a 25-14 loss.
Mayer Lutheran (26-7) followed that with 25-11, 25-18 wins to advance to the state finals for the fifth straight year.
During the postmatch media interviews, Coach Grimsley pointed out that it took her three straight timeouts for her "getting out-hustled" message to sink in. Up to that point, the Jaguars were playing superior volleyball.
I'm still processing the loss, my notes and some short video clips. It was tough to see the Jaguars go down today. They fought like crazy, but it just wasn't breaking their way when we needed it to.
How game one played out vs. the Crusaders...
Both teams traded jabs early, and the Jaguars showed no signs of fear against a taller, more experienced Crusaders front line. They got a kill from Teagan Dingmann for a 1-1 tie, and the Crusaders got a kill shot on a tip by their setter while going up 3-2. Kamie Fischer caught the Crusaders back row flat footed with consecutive ace serves for a 5-3 lead. Kacey Fischer and Macey Roering each had kills, and Kacey Fischer then dropped two straight ace serves on the Crusaders to make it a 9-4 lead. Mayer Lutheran answered with two straight kills after taking that left hook from B-B-E, but after the Jaguars gave up 2 straight points, Roering's ace tip plus a Crusaders hitting error made it 11-7.
The Jaguars continued to maintain the lead, which did not shrink below 3 points the rest of that first set. Three more kills by Kacey Fischer plus another ace serve by Kacey and a kill by Kamie Fischer made it an 18-13 lead. This pushed Coach Grimsley into her first timeout.
Out of that timeout, the Crusaders got a kill from Courtney Tuttle, her 3rd of the set, but Kadynce Haider answered with a kill for a quick side out. Kills from Kamie Fischer and Dingmann made it 21-15, and Coach Grimsley called her last timeout after a Crusaders hittinge error trailing 22-15.
During that 2nd timeout of game one, Cleveland finished up a 25-9 first set win over North Woods in the other match being played at Grand Casino Arena. The Clippers went on to sweep North Woods to move into the consolation championship.
To close out their first set, B-B-E got a late kill by Dingmann for a 24-16 lead. After a B-B-E service error, Dingmann confidently and swiftly leaped for one last kill as Mayer Lutheran sat in stunned disbelief to what just happened. They were out-hit by a massive 42-to-19 percent hitting efficiency. That first set lasted just 19 minutes. The Jaguars had a balanced attack: Teagan Dingmann 5 kills, Kacey Fischer 4 kills, Macey Roering 3 kills and Kamie Fischer and Kadynce Haider with 2 kills each. They also racked up 4 ace serves to help counter their 3 service errors. Also huge: B-B-E's service receive was perfect on Mayer Lutheran's 17 serve attempts.
How game two played out against the Crusaders...
An assisted middle block by Ada Hahn and Hallie Hunter is how game 2 started, with the Crusaders quickly showing they were going to respect B-B-E's middle attack.
Hunter then got a taste of B-B-E's block, with Dingmann and Kacie Fischer's assisted block making a 1-all tie. Dingmann's solo block and two Crusaders errors made it a 3-1 lead for B-B-E. Three kills by Kacey Fischer helped the Jaguars hold a 6-4 lead. After Tuttle's kill to make it a one-point game, the Crusaders committed 3 straight hitting errors. Coach Grimsley called a timeout with the urgent "You're getting out-hustled" message for her squad.
A kill by Tuttle brought a side out and a 9-6 score. The Jaguars then malfunctioned numerous times while Mayer Lutheran picked up their speed. Five straight B-B-E hitting errors put the Crusaders ahead 11-9 with Tuttle on the service line. Her serves were tough and effective, and the Jaguars were unable to mount an effective attack. Mayer Lutheran went in system to precision, with 5 straight kills giving them a 16-9 lead.
The wheels were falling off. Tuttle took advantage and fired an ace serve. Their setter, Izabelle Keaveny, got in the action with a kill. Another Tuttle ace serve pushed it to a 19-9 score with a 14-0 run.
Finally, a Crusaders missed pass brought a side out. A kill from Roering made it 20-11, but the Crusaders had too much going their way as they evened the match with a 25-14 win. Game two statistics... the hitting disparity was wide in the second set as it was in the first set, but now it was the Crusaders with superior efficiency: 24.4 percent hitting on 41 attacks compared to B-B-E's 2.6 percent hitting on 39 attacks. Five Crusaders had 2 or more kills, while the Jaguars just 3 players earning kills (6 of the 9 B-B-E kills from Kacey Fischer). The second set lasted 22 minutes.
How the third set played out against the Crusaders...
If it felt like the wheels were beginning to come off in the second set, the third set began as if a wheel had spun off into the ditch. The Jaguars were flat footed and fell behind 8-2. After Coach Borgerding's timeout, the gap extended to 11-2 before the Crusaders hit long. Kacey Fischer had two kills to make it 11-4 and then 12-5.
After Mayer Lutheran got the lead back to double digits at 15-5, Coach Borgerding called her last timeout. Roering had a kill out of the break, but two Crusaders kills plus a net violation made it 18-6. All the Jaguars had left were kills by Kacey Fischer and Haider, while the Crusaders cut a wide gash through B-B-E's state championship hopes with a 25-11 win. Game three statistics...the Crusaders enjoyed 38.6 percent hitting in the third set, almost as good as B-B-E's 42 percent hitting in the opening set. Their quick offense generated 20 kills on 44 attacks with just 3 misses. B-B-E had 5.7 percent hitting with just 5 kills on 35 attacks.
How the fourth set played out against the Crusaders...
With nothing to lose, the Jaguars came out swinging and fought like hell to push the match to a fifth set. Roering's kill off a block and a Crusaders hitting error made it 2-0. Kacey Fischer's kill gave the Jaguars a 3-2 lead, but Mayer Lutheran's Ada Hahn got an ace serve to give them a 5-3 lead.
Hallie Hunter's ace serve gave the Crusaders an 8-4 lead. The Jaguars were not backing down, and Kacey Fischer had 2 kills to bring it to a 12-10 and later a 14-12 deficit. A roofing penalty against the Crusaders brought it to 14-13.
Three straight B-B-E hitting errors gave the Crusaders an 18-13 lead. Roering got a kill off a block, but the Crusaders responded by pushing ahead 20-14 and bring Coach Borgerding to call a timeout.
Out of that break, the Jaguars were unable to piece it back together. Mayer Lutheran got 3 late kills to go with a B-B-E hitting error and win 25-18. In that 4th set, the Jaguars had another rough hitting figure: 2.9 percent. The Crusaders were not quite as prolific as they were in the 3rd set, but they were still strong with a 21.6 percent mark.
Some light overall match statistics:
Just as what happened to North Woods in the quarterfinals, Mayer Lutheran had a big advantage in hitting efficiency: 26.4 percent to B-B-E's 12.7 percent. Across games 2 and 3, B-B-E had a total of 14 kills, while the Crusaders had 34 kills.
The Jaguars are now 25-7 overall, and they play at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, for third place back at Grand Casino Arena. The opponent will be Ada-Borup West. The Cougars fell 3-1 to Russell-Tyler-Ruthton in the other state semifinal this afternoon. Game scores were 25-12, 25-17, 21-25, 25-13.
Let's go back to game 1 yesterday in the quarterfinals...
In their match today, Cleveland made quick work of ending North Woods' season in a 3-0 sweep.
How about a throwback to 15 years ago! Yes, that is right...here's action from the state tournament in 2010!
This is the start of the consolation semifinals against Cherry...
The Jaguars pulled off an incredible 27-25 win in game two against Cherry after they trailed 24-21. A sweep over Cherry advanced them to the consolation championship, where they lost to Win-E-Mac to finish in 6th place.
FUN FACT! the setter on that 2010 state tournament team was Julie Hieserich (now Schoenberg)...Julie's daughter joined with current junior middle hitter Teagan Dingmann to win the marshmellow challenge during Wednesday's elementary pep fest. HOW COOL IS THAT!!!!!
Tomorrow, Step VII of the postseason, now becomes all about finishing the season with a win and going out of the state tournament in style. The Jaguars will gun for the third place trophy while facing a familiar opponent they've seen regularly in recent years at the Alexandria Invitational.
At the state football tournament today, Upsala/Swanville Area lost 17-8 to Mahnomen/Waubun in the quarterfinals in a game played at Becker high school. They finish the season 9-2 overall.
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.
The outlook still felt uphill after the Clippers had back-to-back kills, but three straight Clippers errors lifted the Jaguars on top for the first time of the match at 9-8. After the Clippers went ahead 12-10, the Jaguars got back-to-back kills by Teagan Dingmann plus a Macey Roering ace serve to gain 14-13 lead. Cleveland was unable to get back in front, and the Jaguars moved the ball around while getting kills by Dingmann and Haider. Roering and Worms had big swings later in the set to gain a 22-17 lead. Cleveland showed their unending tenacity by cutting it to 24-22, but Kacey Fischer ended the 25-minute set with a kill for a 25-22 win.
How game two played out:
Dingmann's solo block gave B-B-E an early 2-1 lead, but the Clippers stormed ahead 4-2 and then 6-3. A kill by Kacey Fischer stopped a 5-1 run, but the Jaguars suffered multiple hitting errors, and Coach Borgerding called her first timeout trailing 10-5.
Out of that timeout, Worms and Dingmann each had kills, and an ace attack by Kamie Fischer cut it to an 11-9 score. Cleveland's head coach Dave Nixon called a timeout. I found that interesting, as his team was still in the lead, but the reporter next to me (who followed them closely this season) mentioned, "He's probably talking about block positioning...he did not like what he was seeing."
Whatever Coach Nixon said worked to precision, as the Clippers scored 5 unanswered points to push it to 16-9. Coach Borgerding called her final timeout, and a kill by Roering followed that for a huge side out. Cleveland continued to maintain the lead, though, at 18-12. Each time went into a flurry of errors, and a kill by Roering cut the score to 19-16. After an ace attack into a block by Worms cut it to 20-18, Coach Nixon called his final timeout. Sathoff's kill and a B-B-E error made it 22-18. Roering's back-to-back kills were followed by a Sathoff kill to bring a 23-20 Cleveland lead. Dingmann stepped up with two straight kills, and an assisted block by Dingmann and Kamie Fischer tied the set at 24-24. Back-to-back B-B-E errors handed the Clippers a 26-24 win to even things at one set each.
Here's a video from late in game two...
How game three played out...
The Jaguars absolutely caught fire out of the gate in game three. Kacey Fischer had a different look in her eyes, and B-B-E quickly had a 6-0 lead to force Coach Nixon to burn a timeout early. Sathoff had a kill out of the timeout, but Fischer had 3 kills during a stretch that was followed by an assisted block from Haider and Roering plus a kill by Worms for an 11-5 lead. B-B-E's attack continued at a furious pace, and after Haider had another kill, Coach Nixon burned his final timeout trailing 12-5.
A five-point deficit was the closest Cleveland could get from there. Makenna Roelike's ace serve made it 16-8, and Josie Buckentine's ace serve plus Haider's kill pushed it to 20-11. Two more Haider kills plus a kill by Kamie Fischer pushed it to 23-14. McCabe's back row attack was good for a kill and a side out, but the Clippers had two straight hitting errors to hand the Jaguars a 25-15 win. It was rough going for Cleveland, who had 3 percent hitting to B-B-E's 23.7 percent mark.
How game four played out...
Cleveland had an early 2-1 lead to start game four, but three straight B-B-E kills from 3 different hitters put the Jaguars up 4-2. Each team delivered counterpunches before the Jaguars found their footing and exploded with an 8-0 run. The attack became relentless in that run: 3 kills by Kacey Fischer, one each by Kamie Fischer and Haider plus an ace serve by Kamie Fischer.
The 13-3 lead got a bit wider with 2 additional kills and a 15-4 lead. The Clippers had one last push in them, and they dug in and surged with a 9-3 run. Kills from Cleveland's Jocelyn Kortuem (setter) and Keira Schipper made it an 18-13 score, and Coach Borgerding called a timeout. Coming out of that, Dingmann's kill and a Cleveland error made it 20-13. The Clippers cut it to 20-15, but Dingmann's kill sparked a 3-0 run. Buckentine's ace serve made it 23-15. Kortuem's ace serve kept the match going for a 24-17 score, but Kacey Fischer's 19th kill of the night finished the match with an exclamation point.
Some match statistics:
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.
"We're feeling very good about our match tonight," said Coach Borgerding in the postmatch interview with local and statewide media.
"I thought we executed really well in sets 1, 2 and 4. I feel like we have a curse on set 2 among us. We dug ourselves a hole in that one, but we came back, just not quite enough."
"We came out after that and stuck to our game plan and played our game to finish the match out."
Each team can have up to 3 players in the postmatch press briefing room. B-B-E's players were Kacey Fischer, Kamie Fischer and Kenna Lieser.
Kacey Fischer said about how the team remained focused after the comeback fell short in game two, "I think we just leaned on our teammates and one another. If we make a mistake, we just shake it off and go for the next ball."
Coach Borgerding said about their game plan on defending Cleveland's tough swings on their outsides, "We worked on our blocking quite a bit this past week, focusing on that outside block. Getting out on that line and pushing McCabe (Taylor) back in. We knew that was her favorite shot, I feel like we did a good job executing that."
Asked about her stronger attacks beginning in the third set, Kacey Fischer said, "I feel like my teammates picked me up more. I got more comfortable out there."
Speaking about the outlook from the back row, Kenna Lieser said, "It was tough back there, but like Kacey said, we just leaned on each other. We communicated through it."
Asked about the work she put into spreading the ball around the front line, Kamie Fischer said, "I started switching up my sets. I felt like that set up our success. We had more shots available."
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.
Coming on Friday in the Class 1A tournament...
In Friday's consolation bracket semifinal matches, Cleveland faces North Woods at 1 p.m., and Nevis faces Fillmore Central at 3 p.m.
In the semifinals, B-B-E takes on the underdog role against Mayer Lutheran at 1 p.m. In the other semifinal, R-T-R takes on Ada-Borup West at 3 p.m.
About Mayer Lutheran...
In their quarterfinal match against North Woods, the Crusaders had an outstanding hitting percentage of 28.6 compared to 10.9 percent for the Section 7A champions. Courtney Tuttle was the leading hitter with 17 kills on 48.4 percent hitting. She also had 9 digs and 2 block assists. North Woods had just 3 players earn kills broken out with 15, 13 and 3 kills. The Crusaders had a huge block, earning 2 solo blocks and 12 block assists. North Woods had one solo and 2 assisted. The lone category North Woods had an advantage was in ace serves: 5 to Mayer Lutheran's four.
More to come in the morning after I get a few hours of much-needed sleep!
THANK YOU to the Bonanza Valley State Bank and Belgrade Co-op for sponsoring this state tournament blog post!
State tournament coming our way! (VIDEOS** UPDATES)
A new was added this evening.
Here's Coach Brittany Borgerding talking today before their practice got underway at the high school:
The team was heading to the All-State banquet this evening.
In reference to Cleveland having no seniors, I mentioned that in the interview with Coach Borgerding. From my view, that can work as an advantage for the Clippers. With no seniors, they don't have that pressure of "now or never" - even though in the world of sports, nothing is ever promised to you. A team could do major damage with a young team at a state tournament, and it does not mean they're promised a state tournament trip one year later.
Here's a video from the practice held today:
PEP FEST updates:
The B-B-E elementary school will host a Pep Fest at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday, the B-B-E high school will host a pep fest at 10:45 a.m. before the team departs to St. Paul for the state opener.
An immense amount of hard work, dedication, focus and determination by the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team has paid off by punching a ticket to the program's 8th state tournament in school history. Our community will benefit from what the coaches and players (and their families) have devoted to the volleyball program. I hope each and every one of you out there is grateful for that!
Here's action from early in game 3 of the Section 6A semifinals:
The video started with the Jaguars holding a 5-0 lead over Hillcrest Lutheran Academy.
...and let's go back to Fargo!
Here's a third quarter video from the FargoDome last Friday:
More to come this afternoon.
Please send a special prayer for safety during their travels today as the volleyball team drives to the Twin Cities for the Minnesota All-State Volleyball banquet. They departed B-B-E high school at 2:30 p.m.
In college sports news...
Tonight, two college sports notes for B-B-E graduates...Class of 2023 graduate Tiyana Schwinghammer's Valley City State University team hosts the University of Minnesota-Morris. In junior college sports, B-B-E Class of 2024 graduate Brooklyn Fischer's St. Cloud Technical and Community College team learns about their National Tournament fate. More updates to follow.
UPDATE from Valley City, North Dakota...Schwinghammer is leading her team with 16 points, with 8 coming in the third quarter, as the Vikings are blowing the University of Minnesota-Morris off the court. With 2:40 left in the third quarter, the Vikings are ahead 53-27. Update: Schwinghammer has scored 12 points in the third quarter, and she leads the Vikings with 20 points. Her last bucket put the Vikings ahead 59-29 going into the last minute of the third.
Her shooting was incredible: 6-of-6 on field goals, which included 2 makes on 2 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, Schwinghammer was 6-for-8 to get her to 20 points in 20 minutes of the 40-minute game. The 6'0" junior forward also had 4 rebounds and 4 steals. With 2 minutes to go, VCSU leads UMM 73-38.
With her team-leading 20 points today, Schwinghammer is now just 23 points away from scoring 1,000 career points at the collegiate level!
UPDATE: at St. Cloud, Fischer's SCTCC Cyclones learned tonight that they've earned a trip to the Division III National Tournament! They head to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the tournament opener on Thursday, November 13. At 3 p.m. that day, the Cyclones face Sandhills Community College.
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
While catching glimpses of the Minnesota Vikings stinking up the field in Los Angeles tonight, I've been able to catch up on some sports reporting work. Tonight, I'll turn my attention to the Park Christian volleyball team, who will play our B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team tomorrow night
Here's a video from game 2 last night:
More to come. Additional video is uploading.
In other news...
Click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper to see footage from Big Grove Lutheran Church this past Friday: https://shorturl.at/pYOE3.
Jaguars take down Royals in four sets (VIDEOS*, updates)
To no one's surprise, I fell asleep while blogging on the match last night. I'm lucky my laptop didn't take a spill! The blog post is being updated on Friday, including a video with one of our players earning her 1,000th career kill.
Utilizing 21.5 percent hitting and a strong block, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team won three straight sets after losing the opener in a huge road win tonight at conference-leading Royalton. Strong 94.6 percent serving also was a huge factor in the win. The Jaguars unleashed a total of 195 attacks in the match. Game scores: 19-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-13. Both teams were in a virtual tie for first place in the Central Minnesota Conference. With the win, the Jaguars take control of the league with two matches remaining (see below).
Late in the fourth set, senior outside hitter Kacey Fischer earned her 1,000th career kill. She stepped up in a major way with a career-high 32 kills with incredible 39.7 percent hitting. Teagan Dingmann had 12 kills on 25 percent hitting, and Macey Roering had 9 kills with 7 digs. Kenna Lieser had 18 digs and 2 ace serves on 16-for-16 serving.
In game one, both teams traded blows after the Jaguars struggled with initial hitting errors. Royalton led 6-2, but a kill by Teagan Dingmann and then two straight from Kacey Fischer plus Kacey's ace block tied it at 6-6. The Royals regained their footing and then took leads of 11-9 and 15-13. Kacey Fischer had back-to-back kills to tie it, but the Royals steamrolled the Jaguars after that with a 10-4 run that gave the home team a 25-19 win. In those last combined 14 points scored, the Royals earned 7 kills.
The coaches implemented a few tweaks before game two, and they were immediately effective. The Jaguars hit Royalton with a relentless attack while building an early lead of 8-1. The Royals fought and fought all through that set and cut it down to 3 points twice, trailing 12-9 after two B-B-E hitting errors. Kills by McKinley Haider and Teagan Dingmann helped push the lead to 16-10. Kacey Fischer later had consecutive kills for a 19-13 lead. The Royals later cut it to 21-19 before the Jaguars ended the set on a booming kill from Macey Roering in a 25-21 win.
Game three was highly competitive for the first half before the Jaguars pulled away. They held leads of 17-12, 20-13 and 22-14 on their way to the 25-16 win.
In game four, the Royals fought to an early 6-5 lead before fading quickly. The Jaguars reeled off an 11-2 run to take control and throttle the home team down the stretch.
Here's a 5 minute long video from game four that begins with the Jaguars ahead 17-7:
If you go 3 minutes into that video (above), you'll see Kacey Fischer swinging a left side attack that glanced off a Royalton block attempt and landed out of bounds. This marked Kacey's 1,000th career kill.
Here's another lengthy video featuring action in game four tonight:
Next: the Jaguars (18-6, 5-0) host Eden Valley-Watkins on Saturday this week in a makeup match. The JV and C-squad matches start at 3 p.m. in Brooten. The varsity match should begin at 4:30 p.m. The regular season concludes next Tuesday, October 14 at Maple Lake. With this win, the Jaguars also move up to No. 7 in the Class 1A QRF rankings.
Here's a video featuring the final points scored in game four:
Royalton was a worthy opponent. They challenged the Jaguars for 3 1/2 sets before fading down the stretch against B-B-E's blistering attack.
Around the community this weekend...
The Elrosa Fire Department steak fry will be held on Saturday, October 11 from 4 to 8 p.m. You can read more by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/MRUEW. Also on Saturday, the Crow River Lutheran church WELCA will host their soup supper and auction in their church basement starting at 4 p.m. The live auction, led by Ziemer Auction Services, starts at 7 p.m.
On Friday, the visitation for Justin Savage is from 4 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home in Belgrade. Savage was a 2020 graduate of B-B-E high school who played multiple sports throughout his career. He also was a dedicated member of the high school's yearbook group. You can read more about Justin and his wonderful family by clicking here: https://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2025/10/we-suffer-another-loss.html. Please pray for them!
Central MN Conference volleyball scores on October 9:
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 3, Paynesville Area 0 (the Falcons take control of third place in the CMC)
Eden Valley-Watkins 3, Maple Lake 1
Area volleyball scores on October 9:
Sauk Centre 3, Montevideo 0
Albany 3, Pequot Lakes 0
Underwood 3, Hancock 2
Central MN Christian-Prinsburg 3, MACCRAY 2
Canby 3, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 1
Henning 3, Sebeka 0
Melrose Area 3, West Central Area 0
LP-GE 3, Browerville 2 (what a fun border battle that must have been)
New London-Spicer 3, Watertown-Mayer 2
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 3, Breckenridge 2
This is the right time to gain momentum for a high school sports team!
At non-conference Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg on Monday night, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team earned a 3-0 sweep against the Fighting Saints to improve to 17-6 overall. Game scores were 25-16, 25-19, 25-18. They have just 3 regular season matches left on the schedule, and they are all Central Minnesota Conference contests. Next: the Jaguars travel to first-place Royalton on Thursday this week. The Jaguars are in a virtual tie for first place in the CMC, but the Royals are technically ahead by a "half match." (Sports writer lingo.) The winner will be in the driver's seat for earning a solo CMC title.
Against K-M-S, the Jaguars had a 21.7 percent hitting mark, and they were led by Kacey Fischer's 18 kills on 31.7 percent hitting. Macey Roering had 2 ace serves, and Kenna Lieser earned a team-high 14 digs.
The Fighting Saints fall to 6-13 overall.
Here's a video from the Paynesville match last Thursday; this is from the 1st set that went far into extra points!
That video began with the Jaguars trailing 23-22 in game one. The Bulldogs are 6-14 overall and 2-3 in the Central Minnesota Conference.
In girls' tennis news...
The top 6 players for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team compete in the Section 6A individual tournament in Rogers starting on Wednesday this week. More on that is in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. Brief updates on the outcomes of the Wednesday matches will be posted in a new blog post later in the afternoon.
Here's a video from last Thursday's playoff match at Minnewaska:
At No. 3 singles, Ellan Fischer is shown playing for the Jaguars. She is the only member of the Class of 2027 (juniors) who plays tennis.
Here's No. 1 doubles action at Minnewaska:
The Lakers have one of their best-ever girls' tennis team in the school's 36-year existence. They are ranked No. 2 in this week's Class 1A state poll.
Area volleyball scores on October 6:
Kimball Area 3, Rockford 1
Albany 3, Sauk Centre 1
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 3, BOLD 0
Rocori 3, St. Cloud Cathedral 0
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 3, Ashby 0
Henning 3, Brandon-Evansville 0
Swanville 3, Bertha-Hewitt 1
Lakeview 3, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 0
Parkers Prairie 3, New York Mills 0
Area volleyball scores on October 7:
Parkers Prairie 3, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 1 (a big Section 6A match won by Panthers in Fergus Falls)
Willmar 3, Fergus Falls 1
Hutchinson 3, Holy Family Catholic 1
Maple Lake 3, Breck 0
Dassel-Cokato 3, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0
Upsala 3, Browerville 1
Minnewaska Area 3, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 2
