i love morris: Jaguars win 3-2, punch ticket for state!

Sunday, November 6, 2022

Jaguars win 3-2, punch ticket for state!

(image from twitter)

The mood is giddy in BBE Jaguar country. The Jaguars built on their already-sterling reputation in volleyball. They climbed again. It was a marathon affair that must have been draining for everyone in the gym. Would the Fergus Falls gym be a "hornet's nest?" Indeed, the Jags were up against the Hornets of Henning. Both teams had been seeded No. 1 in sub-section. BBE comes out of the South, Henning from the North.

You can just imagine the atmosphere in the gym as you scan the scores. Back-and-forth, up to the full five games. And, one of the games ended 33-31! That was a BBE victory, most pivotal of course. Such a game of momentum, volleyball is.

Makes you wonder if intangibles get involved sometimes. Probably doesn't hurt to pray a little?

BBE got down 0-1 at the start of it all, score of 20-25. Then they got going with a 25-14 win in the second game (or set). Game 3 had the extended 33-31 score with the Jags moving forward. Whew!

But the Hornets weren't done, so they captured game 4 in a 25-17 final, to bring on game 5! Everything was at stake. BBE wins! Score of 15-11. Fans went home drained but delighted. So they can focus now on the prestigious state tournament. They carry the banner for Section 6A. The venue for state: Xel Energy Center, St. Paul. Action unfolds there Thursday.

BBE has a long pattern for volleyball success going back to when Belgrade was on its own and made state in 1984. More state berths were on the way: 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2018 and 2019. And now to be added: 2022!

BBE pounded 69 kills at the Hornets with an attack percentage of .188. The pace was set in that department by Ava Mueller. The future Jamestown College athlete totaled 29 kills with a .247 attack percentage, in 77 attempts. Kylie Weller performed 55 set assists. Harley Roering and Abby Berge had 31 and 24 digs respectively, of the team total 115.

Mueller with her team-best kill total was followed by: Adley Hagen 13, Berge 11, Brooklyn Fischer 9, Allison Dingmann 5 and Weller 2. I notice that Brooklyn has become a popular name among girls. I do not recall it from when I was young.

(image from twitter)

Mueller and Weller each had two serving aces while Berge and Roering each had one. These Jaguars cleaned up with a few assists around Weller: Berge, Dingmann, Fischer and Roering. These Jags had impact with ace blocks: Berge, Hagen, Dingmann, Mueller and Fischer.

Roering and Berge were complemented in digs by Mueller 16, Fischer 16, Weller 15, Hagen 6 and Anna Jaeger 5.

BBE enters state with the sterling W/L mark of 25-6. Henning ends the season with the same 25-6 numbers. The cheese stands alone now: BBE with the crown! It's great when your favorite high school teams can play into November!

We're on winter's doorstep but the weather remains basically pleasant. A little windy right now, Sunday morning. I left church before the service started because some people (and kids) around me seemed sick. My kid tolerance can be limited. You've heard the story about how some people will call a restaurant and ask if they have booster seats? And if the answer is "yes," they'll just hang up? I'm not quite that bad.

The kids behind me had toys strewn in the pew. That disheartens me. But remember, "a child shall lead them."

The Jaguars are 7-9 in state qualifying matches in school history. My friend Randy Olson of Bonanza Valley is obviously enthused and tired on this Sunday morning! He's a newspaper guy and goes above and beyond with online-based writing. So here's some of what he wrote this morning:

The 11th-ranked B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team is back in the state tournament for the first time since 2019 after they won a five-game marathon against Henning. The B-B-E fans were absolutely outstanding while backing the terrific play of the team. As I type this, we are over three hours after the match ended, and my ears are still ringing! That was a LOUD and PROUD set of fans! The Jaguars had their best serving night of the playoffs with a 94.5 percent mark. THIS was the perfect time to improve your serving! Also, for the night, the Jaguars tallied 116 digs against Henning's quick, hard-hitting attack. That was tremendous!

Randy does podcasting and video work too. This kind of diversification would be welcome from our Morris newspaper, I feel. Our newspaper has a quite dead website, if you check now and then. It needn't be like this. The web-based work is an extra treat that can complement the once-weekly print newspaper. If the SCT is concerned about "giving away content," I think that's misplaced. There are PR advantages to serving the fans better.

Waiting for a once-weekly print product can be discouraging. Online there are no barriers. Be imaginative! Be creative! Be pro-active! Oh, I know "pro-active" is a cliche. You get my drift.

The YouTube kids of our high school are showing that media work can go far beyond old boundaries. Those boundaries are going to be broken through, whether it's the newspaper people who do it, or others.

Congratulations to everyone involved with the BBE school. Get some rest, Randy. Now everyone there is getting psyched up for the team's state debut which will be on Thursday. As I'm typing this now, I have no further details.

I once delivered volumes of coverage on Morris, Hancock and C-A volleyball. Plus, in the days before UMM's website, I'd interview coach Heather Pennie of the Cougars. I even covered Heather when she pitched for Minnewaska Area High School!

I persisted in the work until storm clouds formed around me toward the end.

It's still my pleasure to write on high school sports now and then. No one hassles or insults me. No more corporate jungle of selfish agendas and back-biting. I cannot be pushed aside.