Breitbach makes Top 30 at state cross country; volleyball prepares for state! (VIDEOS)

We have an exciting week ahead of us in Jaguar Country!

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team is preparing for the Class 1A state tournament for the second straight year. They gear up with three practices on the home floor before the trip to state competition in St. Paul on Thursday. On Tuesday, they also travel to St. Paul for the State Volleyball banquet.

In state cross country news:
B-B-E's Brooklyn Breitbach was one of four eighth graders who placed in the Top 30 at state cross country on Saturday (November 7). She finished 27th with a time of 19:31.7. The fastest 8th grader, Lia Stokman of Crosby-Ironton, was 20th with a time of 19:21.6. The Class 1A state field included 160 female runners.

Margaret Duffy, the Section 5A champion from St. John's Prep, won the Class 1A title with a time of 17:25.2.

Breitbach was one of four B-B-E students who competed this fall on the B-B-E/Paynesville cross country team. They were featured in the October 29 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Here's a video featuring action in game 3 against Border West:


In the final Class 1A Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association poll, the Mayer Lutheran Crusaders were ranked No. 6, while the Jaguars were ranked No. 11.

Here's a video featuring the players and fans soaking up last night's win:


The video also includes the postmatch ceremony when Border West's team received their medals.

Some notes on Mayer Lutheran:
Mayer Lutheran has 8 seniors on this year's team. Many of those seniors played on last year's state tournament team that won the Class 1A state title. They defeated B-B-E 3-1 in the state semifinals. One senior this year of this year's team, Ada Hahn, was the leading hitter in last year's meeting with B-B-E; the 6'0" middle hitter had 17 kills in that match. The setter on Mayer Lutheran's 2025 team graduated.

In last year's Class 1A state championship, Mayer Lutheran won 25-17, 25-15, 25-23 against No. 2-seeded Russel-Tyler-Ruthton.

Sydney Panek is another setter on the team, and she's a 5'6" eighth grader. I don't know enough about them to determine if they run a 6-2 or 5-1 offense. My guess is a 6-2. Hallie Hunter, 6'1" senior outside hitter, is one of their main offensive weapons.

Here's the start of game two against Border West:


The early stages of game two had a back-and-forth flavor, and Border West held early leads of 1-0 and 5-4. Kills by Macey Roering and Laken Anderson sparked a 6-0 run that gave the Jaguars momentum to take control.

Step IV: Jaguar volleyball earns repeat state trip! (VIDEOS**)

It's been an exciting run! The fun's not over yet. Not even close!

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team has advanced to the Class 1A state tournament for the second year in a row. They defeated Border West tonight in a 3-0 sweep to win the Section 6A championship. The match, which started at 7:02 p.m. at Kennedy High School's Gold gymnasium in Fergus Falls, took just over 1 hour from start to finish. My unofficial times show the match lasted approximately 67 minutes.

Game scores: 25-19, 25-17, 25-17. The Jaguars utilized robust 27.7 percent hitting, and they got off to a terrific start with 30.8 percent hitting in game one. Five solo blocks also helped thwart a strong effort by Boarder West, who was the No. 1 seed in Section 6A.

Junior libero Makenna Roelike anchored an incredible back row while she racked up 17 digs. Lydia Primus, also a junior, was outstanding in the back row with 10 digs and perfect 7-for-7 serve receive. Senior setter Kamie Fischer tallied 3 solo ace blocks while maneuvering 42 set assist with 5 digs and 2 kills.

PROGRAMMING break for a reminder! Crow River Lutheran church is hosting a turkey dinner on Sunday, November 8 until 1 p.m. This is sponsored by the Big Grove-Crow River-Grace Lutheran Free Spirits youth group. Come out and support! It's a free-will offering Thrivent event.

Next: the Jaguars play next on Thursday, November 12 at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. Their quarterfinal match will be at either 5 or 7 p.m. Please spread the word!

***UPDATE: The Jaguars are the No. 6 seed at state. They play at 7 p.m. against No. 3-seeded and No. 6-ranked Mayer Lutheran on Thursday, November 12.  The Jaguars will also play on Friday afternoon in one of the two brackets...hopefully the winner's bracket! The Crusaders are 19-12 overall and are Section 4A champions. They defeated our Jaguars 3-1 in last year's state semifinals in St. Paul.

Tuttle, a 6'1" middle hitter, is one of 8 seniors on the Mayer Lutheran roster. Their starting setter is 5'4" senior Ellie Shipler, who has been part of the varsity roster since 9th grade.

If the Jaguars defeat Mayer Lutheran, they play at 3 p.m. the next day, Friday, in the state semifinals. A loss also has them playing on Friday, and that is either 1 or 3 p.m. in the consolation semifinals. Saturday's matches include the 5th, 3rd and 1st place matches.

Some important state volleyball history...in 2025...One of Mayer Lutheran's current seniors, Courtney Tuttle, served 13 straight points for the Crusaders against B-B-E in last year's state semifinals. It was in game two, and the Jaguars had built an early 9-5 lead. Mayer Lutheran called a timeout, and they got a kill after that for a side out. Tuttle then served 13 straight points to turn a 9-5 deficit into a commanding 19-9 lead. The Jaguars, who won game one 25-17, effectively never recovered in a 3-1 loss.

Here's a video featuring the end of tonight's match:


The video begins with the Jaguars ahead 18-9 in game three. In the video, at about the 6-minute mark, Jaylee Jensen punched down a kill from her middle position that landed on the right side of Border West's court. That kill ended the match with the Jaguars winning 25-17.

UPDATES on Sunday: this blog post will get a makeover on Sunday afternoon after the church dinner at Crow River Lutheran. Later on Sunday, a new blog post will be added featuring information on Mayer Lutheran and the Class 1A state tournament field.

Here's a quick cross country interruption: B-B-E's Brooklyn Breitbach was one of four eighth graders who placed in the Top 30 at state cross country on Saturday (November 7). She finished 27th with a time of 19:31.7. The fastest 8th grader, Lia Stokman of Crosby-Ironton, was 20th with a time of 19:21.6. The Class 1A state field included 160 female runners.

Here's a video featuring an interview with senior (Right Side) Mya Worms tonight:


And, no surprise, I got Mya and Teagan's positions mixed up! Mya Worms is a right outside hitter. Teagan Dingmann is a senior middle blocker.

At state, the Jaguars will likely be seeded either No. 4, No. 5 or No. 6 out of 8 teams.

B-B-E's volleyball team has now earned 9 state tournament berths! The list of state teams at B-B-E: 2005, 2007, 2008 (4th), 2010, 2018 (4th), 2019, 2022 (4th), 2025 (3rd) and now 2026. Their placing at state this year will be determined next Thursday through Saturday in St. Paul.

How the Section 6A finals match played out:
In game one, the Jaguars caught fire early beginning with the first serve, which Border West mishandled for an ace credited to Kamie Fischer. Teagan Dingmann's kill made it 2-0, and the Jaguars led 4-0 before Fischer served out of bounds. Two straight kills by Macey Roering made it a 7-2 lead. After Dingmann's kill made it 11-7, the Buccaneers fought back to an 11-0 deficit. Both teams traded hitting errors plus one net violation for a 15-13 score. Border West's setter, Claire Rinke, earned a kill to cut it to 15-14. Senior libero Macey Ebnet's ace serve tied it at 15-15. The Jaguars rallied with a 4-1 run that included an ace serve from McKinley Haider. The rally ultimately went 10-4 in favor of the Jaguars as they won 25-19 with Roering's kill finishing the set.

Here's a video featuring the final points scored in game one tonight:


As for game two, Border West had a much better start than they did in game one. Senior outside hitter Faith Gahlon's kill tied it at 4-4, and senior middle hitter Brynn Vangsness's ace block gave the Buccaneers a 5-4 lead. An ace serve by Lydia Primus put the Jaguars ahead 6-5, and they went on a small but crucial rally that gave them a 12-6 lead. Taylin Schmidt, senior 5'11" middle hitter, earned a kill for a side out. Two straight kills by Anderson started a 7-0 run, with another Anderson kill giving the Jaguars a 19-7 lead. Border West then came alive and surged with a 6-0 run to close the score to 20-16. That ultimately was the only time of the match that Border West challenged the Jaguars.

After a timeout at that stage of game two, Dingmann crushed a kill for a side out. Kills by Roering and Dingmann helped bring the lead to 24-17. Dingmann's ace served finished it off in a 25-17 win for a 2-0 set lead.

The big set was coming, as the Jaguars knew they needed to take care of business in three games. In the third set, Border West had a rough start with three straight hitting errors. A kill by Mya Worms made it 5-1, but the Buccaneers came back to tie it at 6-6. Jaylee Jensen's kill made it 11-8 and started what was a 6-0 run. Kills from Anderson and Dingmann brought the lead to 19-10. Border West's last successful run of their offense was on Gahlon's seventh kill of the night for a 20-13 score. It was all B-B-E from there, and two late kills by Jensen finished off a 25-17 win to complete the sweep.

Other state tournament notes:
Pine River-Backus, the third-place team in the Northland Conference this year, is 19-9 overall after they beat Browerville 3-1 in the Section 5A championship. That section is where B-B-E competed in for the playoffs from 2007 to 2020.

This was crazy: in the Class 1A section championship matches, two featured Top 10 teams. Those sections are Section 1A and Section 7A. In Section 2A, No. 5-ranked Cleveland lost in an upset by a 3-0 sweep against unranked Sleepy Eye St. Mary's. In Section 7A, Chisholm edged Ely in a 3-2 match. They are the No. 9 and No. 10-ranked teams, respectively.

Class 1A section championship match results:
Section 1A: #2 Fillmore Central 3, #4 Kenyon-Wanamingo 2
Section 2A: Sleepy Eye St. Mary's 3, #5 Cleveland 0
Section 3A: #1 Minneota 3, Adrian/Ellsworth 0
Section 4A: #6 Mayer Lutheran 3, Liberty Classical Academy 0
Section 5A: Pine River-Backus 3, Browerville 1
Section 6A: #11 B-B-E 3, Border West 0
Section 7A: #9 Chisholm 3, #10 Ely 2
Section 8A: #8 Sacred Heart-East Grand Forks 3, Fertile-Beltrami 0

In other area section volleyball championships on November 7:
New London-Spicer 3, Jackson County Central 1 (Wildcats win Section 3AA title)
Alexandria 3, Moorhead 1

GAME DAY! In Otter Tail County - again! (VIDEO!*)

I hope you're packing your caravans and make tracks tonight to Kennedy High School in Fergus Falls. The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team is back in the section championship for the second year in a row. They are slight underdogs as the No. 3 seed in Section 6A, and they take on top-seeded Border West with first serve at 7 p.m. at Kennedy's Gold Gymnasium.

I've got a light web article posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: BBEVolleyball-SectionFinals.

AND! Click on the following link: BBE-Sports-Tribute-Brady. At that web article, you can watch a very special video from last Friday's volleyball match in Brooten.

And here's another video from that night last Friday:


The video begins with the Jaguars trailing 14-13 against Hillcrest Lutheran Academy. It was during game three.

I am unaware of radio coverage with Leighton Media. Dave McClurg had the call for Minnewaska Area on 107.1 FM on Thursday night at St. Cloud State University. Once I'm at Fergus Falls tonight, I'll know and will share whether or not we have radio coverage. Stay tuned!

MATCH UPDATES IN FERGUS:
**You can listen to Morris radio online:

https://ingstadmedia.com/live/.

They also broadcast at 95.7 FM. On the website, scroll down to 95.7 KKOK. Their broadcast goes LIVE at 6:51 p.m. Currently, both pep bands are rocking out during the pre-match drills. 

**In game one, the Buccaneers have fought back somewhat, and the Jaguars currently have an 11-10 lead. They led 4-0 out of the gate. 

Game one: BBE 25, Border West 19. The Buccaneers were kept on their heels for much of the set due to excellent Jaguar serving. Multiple serves dropped sharply in the back row, and passing was tough for Border West. The 2nd set will start at 7:26 p.m.

**In game 2, Border West has an early 5-4 lead.

The Jaguars led 20-10, then 20-16, and the final score was 25-17! Jaguars up 2-0 in sets.

***In game 3, the Jaguars have a 16-8 lead, and the Buccaneers are out of time outs.

**HIT refresh to this blog to see the outcome of the match.

Looking at Border West (VIDEO)

Border West's setter is Claire Rinke, a 5'11" senior. One of their top hitters is 5'9" senior outside Faith Gahlon. Two other top hitters include 5'11" senior middle Taylin Schmidt and 5'7" sophomore outside Oaklee Martinek.

Altogether, the roster of Border West has 11 seniors. The Buccaneers hold a 23-2 overall record. They are a first-year co-op between Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley and Wheaton/Herman-Norcross. In the postseason they played two matches at C-G-B high school in Graceville. Last season, both schools had strong volleyball seasons. C-G-B went 18-6, and W/H-N went 14-10. In the 2025 Section 6A standings, they were the No. 7 and No. 8-ranked teams, respectively.

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team (19-8) faces Border West in the Section 6A championship on Saturday, November 7. First serve is at 7 p.m. at Kennedy High School's Gold Gymnasium in Fergus Falls.

Here's a video featuring action late in game two against Underwood:


The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's SmugMug fall sports albums have been updated: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/BBE-Fall-Sports-2026.

Area football section championship results on November 6:
Upsala/Swanville Area 36, Benson 14
Breckenridge 21, Parkers Prairie 14
Minneota 21, Dawson-Boyd 7

Minnewaska Area vs. Sauk Centre for a state berth

At St. Cloud State University at Halenbeck Hall, bordering rivals Minnewaska Area and Sauk Centre out of the West Central Conference are battling for a Class 2A state tournament berth. The Lakers, ranked No. 3 in Class 2A, are the top seed and have lost just one match all year long./

In the first set, Minnewaska Area hit into the net, making it 25-24 Lakers, but Minnewaska Area then served long! 25-25 tie. Later, in extra points, Nora Thieschafer's fifth kill of the night handed Sauk Centre a 28-26 win.

And in the second set at SCSU:
In game two, Sauk Centre has an early 2-0 lead. An ace serve by Kenna Crider made that a 3-0 lead. Thieschafer's 6th kill of the night made it 4-0 Sauk Centre. Minnewaska Area's hitting error made it 5-0. Lewison's kill brought a badly-needed side out for a 5-1 score, and then the Lakers got an ace serve for a 5-2 score. Minnewaska's net violation made it 6-2. Thieschafer, a 5'6" junior, rocketed off a kill for a 7-2 Mainstreeters lead. Lucia Rieland's kill made it 8-2, and Minnewaska Area called a timeout. The Lakers got a kill by Berlynn Green for a side out, and a Sauk Centre hitting error made it 8-4. Thieschafer's kill made it 9-4. She is also a junior, and she went to the service line and fired off an ace for a 10-4 lead. She then served long for a side out and a 10-5 score.

Mya VanLuik's kill made it 10-6, and Green hit a kill, and Sauk Centre had a hitting error for a 10-8 score. Green's kill closed it to 10-9. The Mainstreeters blocked Green for a side out and an 11-9 score. VanLuik then hit long for a 12-9 score, but Green pounded down a kill for a side out and then dropped back to serve with a 12-10 score. VanLuik's kill cut it to 12-11. Sauk Centre's hitting error tied it 12-12. Kaiya Nelson's soft touch kill broke the tie for a 13-12 Sauk Centre lead. A Minnewaska Area kill tied it at 13-13.

Sauk Centre's hitting error gave Minnewaska Area their first lead in game two at 14-13. Kuhlmann's kill tied it at 14-14, and she then served up an ace serve for a 15-14 Sauk Centre lead. Avery Lewison's kill tied it at 15-15. Lewison hit long for a 16-15 Sauk Centre lead. Rieland's out of bounds hit tied it at 16-16. The Lakers then hit long for a 17-16 Sauk Centre lead, and Peyton Borgmann's ace serve made it 18-16. The Lakers got a kill for an 18-17 score. Borgmann, a 5'4" setter, had an ace attack for a 19-17 lead. Thieschafer's ace serve made it 20-17 Sauk Centre. Haillie Schulz, Minnewaska's setter, had an ace attack for a side out and a 20-18 score. The Lakers had a hitting error for a 21-18 score, and the Lakers called their final timeout.

VanLuik's kill brought a side out and a 21-19 score. Michaela Johnson's kill made it 21-20, and Sauk Centre head coach Jim Klaphake called a timeout. Johnson hit another kill out of the timeout, and the Lakers forged a 21-21 tie. Green's ace serve made it 22-21 Minnewaska Area. VanLuik hit long for a 22-22 tie.

Each team scored for a 23-23 tie. The Lakers got a kill for a 24-23 lead. Thieschafer's kill tied it at 24-24 to force extra points for the second straight set. The Lakers got a point on a Sauk Centre net violation and a 25-24 lead. A Lakers hitting error tied it at 25-25. Borgmann served, and the Lakers hit long on a right side hit by Lewison. This gave Sauk Centre a set point serve and a 26-25 lead. The Lakers got a kill by Schulz for a 26-26 tie. Green hit a tip attack, and Lucia Rieland tipped the ball to the floor for a kill and a 27-26 Sauk Centre lead. Rieland then hit long for a 27-27 tie.

Minnewaska Area's ace serve made it 28-27. VanLuik was then stuffed by Rieland for a 28-28 tie. Nelson blocked VanLuik for a 29-28 Sauk Centre lead. Green hit long, and Sauk Centre won 30-28 for a 2-0 set lead! Holy crap.

Later in the third set...
Sauk Centre trailed 17-12 but stormed back to gain a 21-20 lead. The Lakers went for a timeout. The Lakers then tied it at 21-21 with a kill. Green hit a kill for a 22-21 Minnewaska Area lead, and Coach Klaphake called for a timeout.

Green fired an attack, but it went long for a tie game at 22-22 on the hitting error. She hit a kill for a 23-22 Minnewaska Area lead, but the Lakers had a service error for a 23-23 tie. Lucia Rieland went back to serve. Green hammered a hard shot for a kill, and the Lakers took a 24-23 lead, just one point from keeping their season alive.

Kuhlman's hitting error handed the Lakers a 25-23 win. The third set was completed at 8:37 p.m.

In game four...
Green's 16th kill of the night gave Minnewaska Area a 16-9 lead. The Lakers led 4-1 early before the Mainstreeters tied it at 4-4 and 5-5. The lead for the Lakers grew to 18-10, and Coach Klaphake called a timeout. After that, Gemma Kleinschmidt blocked Green for a badly-needed side out and an 18-11 score. A net violation by VanLuik made it 18-12. The Lakers stretched the lead to 20-12 on a Mainstreeters hitting error. The score moved to 21-12 on a Sauk Centre net violation. Nelson's ace block brought a side out and a 21-13 score. A Lakers kill made it 22-13. Nelson's kill brought a side out and a 22-14 score. Game four final score: Minnewaska Area 25, Sauk Centre 14. This is going to a fifth set.

In the fifth set:
Both teams had early kills for a 1-1 score. Nora Thieschafer's kill, her 11th of the night, put Sauk Centre ahead 2-1. A Sauk Centre hitting error tied it at 2-2. Brooklyn Noyes served long for a Minnewaska Area service error and a 3-2 Sauk Centre lead. Green's hammer shot, her 17th kill of the night, tied it at 3-3. Kuhlmann's kill made it 4-3 Sauk Centre. A Lakers hitting error made it 5-3. Green's kill in the middle brought it to 5-4, but she then rotated to the back row. Kuhlmann's kill, her 11th of the night, made it 6-4. Johnson's kill on a rally that lasted well over a minute brought Minnewaska Area to within one point trailing 6-5. Thieschafer's kill made it 7-5. Minnewaska Area then hit into the net for an 8-5 score. Minnewaska called for a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Michaela Johnson's kill brought a Lakers' side out and an 8-6 score. Lewison's kill brought Minnewaska to an 8-7 deficit. Taylor Schulz's ace serve tied the set at 8-8. Johnson's kill gave Minnewaska a 9-8 lead, which was their first lead of the set after they scored the very first point. Coach Klaphake called a timeout.

Rieland then hit a huge ace attack for her 9th kill of the night and a 9-9 tie score. Sauk Centre's hitting error gave the Lakers a 10-9 lead, and Green worked back to the front row. Lewison's kill gave the Lakers an 11-9 lead. Rieland's ace block made it 11-10, and Thieschafer went back to the service line. Rieland stuffed Green for an 11-11 tie, but a service error handed the Lakers a 12-11 lead. Green's kill, her 18th ace attack of the night, gave the Lakers a 13-11 lead, and Coach Klaphake called his final timeout. Rieland's kill, her 10th of the night, made it a 14-12 score. Green's 19th kill of the night finished off the match. Minnewaska Area punched their ticket to state for the first time in program history with a 15-12 game five win.

Sauk Centre was bidding for their 10th overall state tournament trip. They last went to state in 2021, when they won the Class 2A state championship. The careers of 8 Sauk Centre seniors comes to an end, including their setter, Peyton Borgmann. The final record for the Mainstreeters was 23-7.

Minnewaska Area advances to state with a 30-1 overall record. Their roster features 9 seniors, including Schulz (setter) and Lewison (middle hitter).

In Section 3A at Marshall...
Adrian/Ellsworth earned a 3-0 upset win against heavily favored and No. 3-ranked Russell-Tyler-Ruthton to win the Sub-Section 3A-South title. The R-T-R Knights were the defending section champion, and they took second at state last year. Earlier tonight, in the Sub-Section 3A-North championship match, top-seeded Minneota won 3-0 against Central Minnesota Christian of Prinsburg. The Vikings last went to state in 2024, when they placed second.

In Section 5AA at St. Michael-Albertville high school:
The clock struck midnight for the Maple Lake Irish, who lost 3-1 tonight to Blake in the Section 5AA semifinals. They finish a terrific season with an 18-12 overall record. They went 2-5 in the Central Minnesota Conference. Blake, the No. 2 seed, improves to 17-4 overall.

In Section 3AA at Marshall...
New London-Spicer won the Sub-Section 3AA-North title tonight with a 3-0 sweep over No. 7-seeded Montevideo.

Step III: Jaguar volleyball heading to the 'Ship! (VIDEOS**)

In a truly memorable night where all kinds of heart and guts and tenacity was displayed by the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team, a terrific performance by the Underwood Rockets could not overcome what the underdogs brought to Fergus Falls tonight. After faltering early and losing the opening set 25-18, the No. 3-seeded Jaguars ran the table in a 3-1 win to advance to the Section 6A championship for the second straight year.

Here's a video from early in game two tonight:


Game one final score: Underwood 25, B-B-E 18.
Game two final score: B-B-E 25, Underwood 21.
Game three final score: B-B-E 25, Underwood 17.
Game four final score: B-B-E 25, Underwood 16.

The Jaguars (19-8) play again Saturday, November 7 at 7 p.m. to go to state! At the same location as tonight's match. Please spread the word!! The opponent will be Border West, a first-year co-op between Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley, Wheaton Area and Herman-Norcross schools.

How the match developed across games one and two against Underwood:
In game one, the Rockets took advantage of a couple early Jaguar miscues while gaining a quick 7-1 lead. The Jaguars fought like mad but could not get the gap closer than 4 points until they trailed 14-11 on an Underwood hitting error. They fell behind as much as 22-14 before a late push with back-to-back kills from Laken Anderson and Teagan Dingmann cut it to 24-18.

In game two, the Jaguars had a great start with an early 5-2 lead, but Underwood cut it to 5-4 and 6-5. After the Jaguars took an 11-8 lead with Dingmann's kill, the Rockets rattled off a 5-0 run for a 13-11 lead. Jaylee Jensen's kill broke a 13-13 tie, but Underwood then took leads of 16-15, 20-18 and 21-19. The Jaguars found a rally at just the right time when they had a 6-0 scoring run to win the set and even the match at two games each.

Here's action from the middle of game three tonight:


In game three, the Jaguars fell behind 11-8 before Macey Roering's kill brought a crucial side out. After Laken Anderson's kill tied it at 11-11, the Jaguars surged ahead and held a 14-11 lead after McKinley Haider's ace serve.

The third set began 49 minutes after the start of the match. An initial 3-1 lead was followed by a 5-3 deficit. The Rockets pulled ahead 8-4 before Coach Breitbach called a timeout. Underwood junior outside Aubrey Borgos hit her 10th kill of the night for a 9-6 score. Trailing 10-6, the Jaguars got a kill from Jaylee Jensen before falling behind 11-8. THe Jaguars found their spark on a Roering kill that was followed by an assisted block by Jensen and Fischer. Anderson's kill made it 11-11 as the Jaguars surged to a 14-11 lead, at which point Underwood called a timeout.

With momentum on their side, the Jaguars pushed the lead to 17-12 and then 19-13 on a Fischer ace serve. Dingmann's ace serve made it 22-15, and back-to-back kills from Roering brought game point at 24-16. Jensen's kill finished off a 25-17 win for the 2-1 set lead.

In game four, which started 72 minutes after the start of the match, B-B-E's momentum carried through as they took a quick early lead on terrific serving by Fischer, whose ace serve made it 4-0. A kill by Anderson and a block by Dingmann pushed it to 9-2.

Here's a video featuring action early in game four:


Underwood did not go away easily, and the Rockets put up a fight to close the gap to 12-8, 13-10 and then 14-12. Beginning with a kill from Anderson, the Jaguars rattled off a 6-0 run that broke Underwood's spirits. After the Jaguars hit long for a side out and a 22-16 score, they scored the final 3 points of the night to punch their ticket to the championship with a 25-16 win.

Underwood's season closes with 23 wins...
For Underwood, the volleyball careers of 7 outstanding seniors comes to a close tonight. The Rockets went 23-7 this season. In the Little Eight Conference, they were 7-1, good for a co-championship with Border West. The Buccaneers are 23-2 overall after sweeping No. 5-seeded Henning in the earlier semifinal tonight at Kennedy High School. Game scores were 25-10, 25-14, 25-19. Henning finishes 22-8; the Hornets were runners-up in the Park Region Conference with a 6-1 record behind Wadena-Deer Creek.

Border West's former teams, C-G-B and W/H-N, were both strong programs before the co-op pairing. It's no surprise they are having such a strong season. I'll have scouting information to share later in the day on Thursday.

Area volleyball playoff scores on November 4:
Marshall Area 3, Willmar 1
Detroit Lakes 3, Annandale 0
Alexandria 3, Buffalo 0

GAME NIGHT! In Otter Tail County (VIDEO)

The Section 6A semifinal volleyball playoffs is being held tonight at Kennedy High School in Fergus Falls. In the first match, Border West faces Henning at 6 p.m. The nightcap features our B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team facing No. 2-seeded Underwood at approximately 7:45 p.m. I am unaware of radio coverage, but I am guessing the Fergus Fall station will carry it. I hope to get updates posted here before B-B-E's match. 

I sure miss Smooth Magic 107 FM and Brady's coverage already!

I'll also get a time posted on when our pre-match drills begin.

Here's a video featuring action in game one last Friday against HLA:


**There is no radio broadcasting here. Leighton Media dropped the ball! Crazy!!!! I can't believe it. They have staff here in Fergus Falls. I do not understand. 

**In the first semifinal, Border West won 3-0 over fifth-seeded Henning. 

MATCH UPDATES against Underwood...
The pre-match 20 minute timer should start at 7:22 p.m.**The 20 minute clock expires at 7:45 p.m. Then we will have player introductions.

In game one, the Rockets have an early 6-1 lead.

Later, Underwood has a 20-13 lead.

Game one: Underwood 25, B-B-E 18.

**In game 2, the Rockets are ahead 12-11.

Later, Underwood has a 20-18 lead.

Game two: B-B-E 25, Underwood 21.

**In game 3, an early 3-1 lead evaporated quickly, and the Rockets have an 8-4 lead. **REFRESH this blog post to see the outcome of the match.

Election results are in for local races

Visit the Bonanza Valley Voice website for local updates: Brooten-Belgrade-2026race-results.

That's all I've got to post. I have to get the paper ready for the printing press.

It is wet out (VIDEOS added)

Periodic heavy rain and steady rain has been falling all morning today across the Bonanza Valley area. At 1 p.m., I'll check out our rain gauge and see what's been dropped on us today.

Some B-B-E news...
In one of the major four Activity Account fundraisers for B-B-E schools, the Fruit Sales fundraiser ends this week on Friday, November 6 at the end of the school day (~4 p.m.). Either contact a student you know or call the high school office to place an order: 320-254-8211 (option 2).

Monday night updates:
I don't know what the rain gauge said earlier today, but as of 7 p.m. it's showing we've received around 2 inches of rain today in Brooten.

Much of my time in the past 48 hours has been wrapped up with preparing a radio story for this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. With the changes taking place with the Glenwood radio station, in the past 2 weeks, I've witnessed something that I will write about just one time in my life: a radio station being bought out by a larger company. It's been an eye opener, and it's made me realize more than ever just how touch-and-go it can be with a small business in the American media industry. It's downright scary.

Here's a video from pre-match action last Friday night:


Here's a video featuring the end of game one against the Comets last Friday:


A new post will be added some time later in the day on Tuesday, Election Day.

In light volleyball news...
I see that Paynesville Area lost a 3-2 match on Monday night to No. 7-seeded Montevideo in a tough upset. The Bulldogs were the No. 3 seed in Sub-Section 3AA-North. Also, Maple Lake won in Section 5AA and keeps their season alive. The Irish (18-11) play again this Thursday against Blake in the semifinals. More to come later in a new blog post.