A-E, JCC both ousted in sectional volleyball title matches

Top-ranked Minneota was too much for Adrian-Ellsworth in the Section 3A volleyball final on Saturday as the Vikings downed the Dragons 3-0 by game scores of 25-18, 25-14, 25-14.

The Vikings, now 30-4 on the season, had their biggest test against A-E in the opening game. With the Dragons down by just three at 15-12, Minneota tallied three points in a row to double its lead. The Dragons then closed to within 19-16, but the Vikings proceeded to run off five straight points.

In game two, Minneota sprinted to a quick lead and forced A-E to call timeout after the Dragons fell behind 8-1. A-E used its second timeout down 17-6, but Minneota was able to keep rolling.

The Dragons battled well against the Vikings for the first portion of game three, but after a 12-12 tie Minneota won 13 of the final 15 points to wrap up the match. A-E finishes the year at 21-10. 

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Jackson County Central and New London-Spicer played a thrilling game four Saturday night in the Section 3AA volleyball title match, but the Wildcats outlasted the Huskies 35-33 to finish off a 3-1 win against the Huskies to advance to the state tournament. New London-Spicer took the first two games — scoring the final points of game one to win 25-23 and then capture game two 25-15 — and the Huskies won game three 25-21.

New London has lost just once all year and is now 26-1. JCC finishes the fall at 22-9.

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Minnesota West invites students, employees, alumni and community members to join a special send-off reception honoring the Lady Jays' volleyball team as they head to the 2026 NJCAA Division III Volleyball National Championship.

The reception will take place at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Worthington Commons. The event will celebrate another historic season and give the community an opportunity to wish the team luck before they travel to Glen Ellyn, Ill., for the national tournament. That tourney will begin Thursday and continue through Saturday at the College of DuPage.

Minnesota West, which has the No. 7 seed, will open play at nationals at 11 a.m. Thursday against 10th-seeded Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute.

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Jackson County Central captured its fifth straight Section 3AA football title on Friday night, blanking Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial 9-0 at SMSU in Marshall.

Brody Anderson picked off a Knights pass on the second play of their first drive and added a 19-yard touchdown moments later for a 6-0 Huskies lead. JCC, which improved to 10-1 on the season, went on to hand Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial its second loss of the year; the Huskies also dealt the Knights their first defeat of the season and outscored them 34-0 in the two games.

Gage Johnson had a team-best 96 rushing yards for JCC, which is the No. 3 South seed in the state tourney. It will open play against No. 2 seed Waterville-Elysian-Morristown at 7 p.m. Thursday at Hastings High School.

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After Hills-Beaver Creek's Friday afternoon Section 3 9-Man title win over Edgerton, the unbeaten Patriots are the No. 1 south seed at the state tournament and will face No. 4 south seed Spring Grove at 7 p.m. Thursday at SMSU.