ST. PAUL -- Momentum in volleyball can be as slippery as ice and as hard to hold onto as a wet bar of soap.
It was also the thing that Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa couldn't master as the Jaguars lost to Mayer Lutheran 18-25, 25-23, 25-19, 27-25 Thursday in the quarterfinals of the state Class A volleyball tournament at Xcel Energy Center.
BBE will face Northern Freeze in the consolation semifinals at 3 p.m. today. The Crusaders take on Bethlehem Academy in the championship semifinals, also at 3 p.m. today.
"It seemed like the breaks went their way," said BBE coach Kevin Weller. "That's what happens when the momentum goes your way."
For example, no matter how each game started, the Jaguars found themselves in a 6-3 hole in all four games.
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The only game where BBE mounted a sustained rally was the first. The Jaguars fell as low as 8-3, then tied the match at 10 on four Mayer Lutheran attack errors and a Heidi Lensing kill. BBE fell behind 15-13 but scored six straight points to build a 19-15 lead. Lindsay Goodwin served the last four points for the win.
"That first game we came out with all we had," said Emily Roelike, who had 13 kills for BBE.
Despite everything the Jaguars tried in the next three games, they couldn't get enough momentum to pull away. BBE had one lead in the second game, didn't lead at all in the third and couldn't hold on to a 20-16 advantage in the fourth.
"They were starting to overpower us," said Roelike. "They'd get a good kill and we'd get down. We lost the momentum."
BBE had a good shot at forcing a fifth game, but Mayer Lutheran's big hitters -- Sarah Kjos, Cortney Kelzer and Emily Schrupp -- scored big kills in a four-point swing that took BBE's 24-22 lead away.
"We knew they were a team that could dig the ball from all over the floor and they did that all night long on us," Weller said. "What I wanted to see happen more than anything was for us to stay aggressive, and we did.
"They were the better team. We know we can play better, but that's what happens when you play a good team."
Lensing led the team with 20 kills and four total blocks. Roelike and Jena Schroeder had 20 digs each. Jenny Hieserich served eight aces and Sarah Gruber had 42 assists.
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Kjos had 14 kills in 21-of-22 attacks for a .591 kill percentage to lead the Crusaders. Kelzer added 12 kills and Schrupp had 11.
Mayer Lutheran 3, BBE 1
Mayer Lutheran (18-13)..........18 25 25 27
BBE (27-4)................................25 23 19 25
(Key: good-attempts-aces)
Mayer Lutheran
Serving: Malea Noennig 13-13-0, Courtney Kelzer 17-17-2, Kindra Boelke 12-12-1, Sara Kjos 0-1-0, Emily Schrupp 19-20-3, Amanda Schrupp 19-19-1, Megan Presler 10-12-1 ... Setting: Noennig 134-134-39, Kelzer 3-3-1, Boelke 4-4-0, E. Schrupp 21-21-2, A. Schrupp 4-4-2, Presler 2-2-0, Kayla Thom 3-3-0 ... Hitting: Noennig 6-8-1, Kelzer 53-64-12, Boelke 1-3-1, Kjos 21-22-14, E. Schrupp 23-28-11, Dana Schlottmann 24-28-5, A. Schrupp 3-3-0, Presler 1-1-0, Thom 16-20-4 ... Blocking (aces): Noennig 2, Thom 2, Kelzer 1, Kjos 1 ... Digs: Noennig 17, A. Schrupp 14, Presler 13, E. Schrupp 11, Boelke 10, Kelzer 10, Schlottmann 1, Thom 1
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa
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Serving: Jena Schroeder 18-20-0, Heidi Lensing 9-10-0, Sarah Gruber 11-11-0, Lindsay Goodwin 20-20-3, Emily Roelike 9-9-0, Jenny Hieserich 20-23-8 ... Setting: Ashley Serbus 2-2-0, Schroeder 9-9-0, Lensing 4-4-1, Gruber 141-144-42, Roelike 6-7-2, Emily Radermacher 2-2-0 ... Hitting: Serbus 18-20-4, Schroeder 11-15-2, Lensing 36-41-20, Gruber 8-8-3, Goodwin 28-32-6, Roelike 32-42-13 ... Blocking (aces): Serbus 3, Lensing 2, Goodwin 1 ... Digs: Roelike 20, Schroeder 20, Lensing 14, Hieserich 12, Goodwin 8, Gruber 2
