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    LSH-Jordan VB 11/2

November 1, 2008

Jordan advances to state tournament

Jaguars sweep LSH for Section 2AA crown

By Jim Rueda

ST PETER — The turning point came early on Saturday as Jordan rallied to pull out a first-game win against Le Sueur-Henderson and went on to win the Section 2AA volleyball championship at Lund Center.

The Jaguars trailed 24-22 in Game 1 but came back behind the right arm of Brittany Chambers to deliver a 28-26 victory. Jordan went on to win the remaining games 25-13 and 25-17. It marked the third time the teams have played this season after splitting two regular-season meetings.

“Winning that first game was huge,” said Chambers, who finished with a match-high 27 kills and 22 digs. “We finally started clicking after that and were able to win the next two.”

Her mom, coach Colleen Chambers, agreed: “That gave us the momentum, and momentum is everything in this game. We were struggling in that first game but straightened things out after that and got on a roll.”

Brittany Chambers almost single-handedly brought the Jaguars back in Game 1. Trailing 24-22, she delivered three straight cross-court kills and then added another after the teams had exchanged serves. Teammate Mackenzie Kruger ended the game with an ace serve.

The teams again played close in the second game until Jordan gradually pulled away. This time it was senior Leah Dietel who led the charge. The 6-foot-1 hitter belted four kills and delivered four blocks to lift Jordan from an 11-10 lead to a 25-13 win. Brittany Chambers closed out the game with two ace kills and an ace tip.

Brittany Chambers said getting the ball to Dietel was by design.

“We always want to try to put the ball in her hands because she’s so good with it. You saw what she did tonight. She’s one of our experienced seniors and one of our go-to players”

Dietel again came on strong in Game 3, supplying seven kills in the 25-17 win. LSH closed the gap to 22-17 late in the game, but two more kills by Chambers helped seal the Giants’ fate.

Dietel ended up with 19 kills, 15 digs and four blocks. Teammate Emilee Gutzmer finished with 17 digs and 43 assists.

LSH’s Natlie Wentzlaff felt Game 1 was important but said it should not have decided the outcome of the match.

“It definitely gave them the momentum, but we knew we had four games left,” said the senior who finished with five kills. “We just didn’t hit enough tonight. If we had responded better to what they were doing we might have stayed in it.”

Morgan Meger led the Giants with 10 kills. Shelly Blaschko delivered 23 assists, and Ashley Kahlow had a team-high 15 digs.

“We were trying to put a double-block up every time Chambers and Dietel hit the ball,” LSH coach Dave Nixon said. “We wanted them to funnel their kills around our blocks where our back-row players could pick it up. We were successful to a large extent but didn’t have the offense to match our defense.”

LSH ends the season 23-7. Jordan, the No. 1-ranked team in the state all year, begins state tournament play next week.

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