Huskies cruise to sweep

WORTHINGTON -- It's finally official.

Throughout the past week, Jackson County Central's volleyball players have received questions from fans regarding their rematch with Worthington in the postseason.

The Huskies' response: First things first.

JCC cruised Friday night to a 25-13, 25-13, 25-13 sweep over Fairmont in the first round of the Section 3AA playoffs, earning a second-round matchup with the Trojans, who swept the Huskies in Worthington on Sept. 18.

Third-seeded JCC will face second-seeded Worthington on Tuesday in Redwood Falls.

"They weren't looking ahead (to Worthington)," JCC coach Teresa VanEpps said, referring to her players. "People would ask them, 'Well, you have Worthington on Tuesday?' And the girls would say, 'No, we have Fairmont on Friday.'"

With the matchup confirmed, the Huskies quickly turned their focus to the Trojans, who snapped JCC's 14-game unbeaten streak to start the season, handing it the first of just two losses all year.

"It was very frustrating; nothing seemed to go right that night," VanEpps said. "They knew after we lost to Worthington in regular-season play that it was going to affect us not only in seeding, but it also was going to affect us in conference standing and how many votes we got for all-conference players.

"They knew it was going to hound them all season long. Are they ready for Worthington? Yes, they are. They can't wait."

The Huskies bounced back from a sweep against Marshall to end the regular season, but, despite the sweep against Fairmont, VanEpps wasn't happy with her team's effort going into Tuesday's rematch with the Trojans.

"I don't think it's a good thing," she said. "A sweep is a sweep, but you have to stay intense and focused the whole time, and our girls let down on it a little bit. We can't have that. We have Worthington coming up on Tuesday, and if we lose intensity in that match, they're going to get a couple of runs on us, and we can't afford that."

Fairmont scored the first point of the match Friday, and, after JCC scored the next two, fought back to tie it.

The Huskies answered.

Brooke Burmeister delivered a hard kill, sparking a 14-3 run that was capped by a hard kill from Whitney Burmeister.

Fairmont came out swinging in the second game, gaining a 5-4 lead.

Again, the Huskies put the clamps on.

A hard hit by Jasmine Timko sparked a 16-4 run, leading the Huskies to a 12-point victory in Game 2.

Early in the third game, the Huskies appeared as disinterested as their fans, who made clear their disgust with Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress by starting a "Fire Childress" chant.

JCC took an early 3-0 lead, but it failed to record consecutive points for an extended period afterward.

After the Cardinals scored consecutive points to tie the score at 11-11, a frustrated VanEpps called a timeout.

"That old cliché, 'You play to the ability of your opponents,' you can't do that," she said. "Good teams don't do that. We need to stay focused and play hard."

The Huskies got the message.

Out of the timeout, JCC went on a 14-2 run, winning the game and the match before quickly shifting their focus to the Trojans.

"We seem to always have a problem sticking (it out to the end)," Brooke Burmeister said. "I think we'll have our heads on straight in (the Worthington) game.

"They're good competition, and we have to come out thinking that we can do it -- with our heads in the right spot this time."

Brooke Burmeister finished with 12 kills, nine digs and two ace serves. Her sister, Whitney, a freshman, had eight kills, four digs and two ace blocks in her first playoff appearance.

"She has never played like a freshman," VanEpps said, referring to Whitney Burmeister. "Not only is she athletic, but she's a student of the game, and she's very smart."

Briel Hendrickson had 11 kills, six digs, two ace serves and an ace block, and Erika Voss added five kills.

Stacey Schuller had a match-high 22 set assists, and Jasmine Timko added nine digs for the Huskies (24-2-1), who are hoping to exact a measure of revenge on Tuesday.

"They always say, 'It's hard to beat the same team twice,'" Brooke Burmeister said. "So, hopefully, it's true."