The Jackson County Central volleyball team is going through a hectic two-week schedule that finds the Huskies facing some top-notch competition.
JCC started the stretch with a pair of matches against teams ranked first in the state.
On Tuesday, Minnesota Class 3A No. 1 Marshall defeated the Huskies 3-0 in a Big South Conference West Division match. Set scores were 25-9, 25-19, 25-14.
Then on Thursday, JCC fell to South Dakota Class A (middle of three classes) Sioux Falls Christian 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-19, 25-13). The Huskies are 3-3 on the season overall, 0-2 in conference play.
Next for coach Diedre Wierson’s squad is the 12-team Carolyn Hummel Invitational on Saturday.
JCC then hosts Windom on Tuesday before playing away from home three straight days as the Huskies are at New Ulm Thursday, Sept. 21 and at the Class AA Showcase at the Midwest Volleyball Warehouse in Burnsville Friday, Sept. 21 and Saturday, Sept. 22.
Hummel tournament
Saturday’s tournament is named in honor of Carolyn Hummel, who passed away in June of 2009. She was a pioneer of girls athletics.
Mrs. Hummel graduated from Danube High School and went on to graduate from the University of Minnesota with a degree in physical education and health. In college she participated in volleyball, basketball and track and field.
She began her teaching career in Lakefield in 1970.
When she arrived in Lakefield, female athletes participated in GAA activities, but not competitively. Mrs. Hummel began the process of scheduling competitive games with other school districts in the 1972-73 school year.
She would retire in 2004 after 31 years of coaching the Lakefield Panthers, Heron Lake-Okabena-Lakefield Silver Bullets and Jackson County Central Huskies.
Her teams compiled a record of 555-182-13, a winning percentage of .740.
JCC won state Class AA championships with Mrs. Hummel as the head coach in 1999 and 2003.
A factor in the success of the high school programs locally was the successful Junior Olympics volleyball program she started at a time when the majority of the J.O. programs were in the Twin Cities area.
Mrs. Hummel was inducted into the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Minnesota State High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2012.
She also coached basketball and had success in that sport as well. The Panthers won District 7 championships in 1978 and 1980.
Her passion for her student-athletes extended beyond the court, however. She called her student-athletes "young ladies" and impressed them on the value of conducting themselves in a classy manor and being good citizens.
Mrs. Hummel and her husband, Ron, raised three children, Michelle (HLOL Class of 1996); Angela (JCC Class of 2001) and Jon (JCC Class of 2004).
The 12 teams will compete in four pools of three teams apiece and from there play in Gold, Silver and Bronze brackets.
Play starts at 9 a.m. Here are the pool play schedules. Won-loss records are in parenthesis:
Pool A
9 a.m.: Jackson County Central (3-3) vs. Red Rock Central (0-6)
10:15 a.m.: Jackson County Central vs. Martin County West (4-7)
11:30 a.m.: Red Rock Central vs. Martin County West
Pool B
9 a.m.: Kasson-Mantorville (8-2) vs. Triton (0-5)
10:15 a.m.: Kasson-Mantorville vs. Worthington (3-3)
11:30 a.m.: Worthington vs. Triton
Pool C
9 a.m.: Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda (5-5) vs. Austin (7-5)
10:15 a.m.: Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda vs. Luverne (3-5)
11:30 a.m.: Austin vs. Luverne
Pool D
9 a.m.: Windom (8-2) vs. New Ulm (2-3)
10:15 a.m.: Windom vs. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (4-5)
11:30 a.m.: New Ulm vs. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
A decade of champions
Winners of the JCC volleyball tournament in the last 10 years:
2013: Minneota
2014: Prior Lake
2015: Rochester Mayo
2016: Jackson County Central
2017: Luverne
2018: Jackson County Central
2019: Rochester John Marshall
2020: No tournament
2021: Jackson County Central
2022: Jackson County Central
BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE
West Division standings
Marshall 2-0
Redwood Valley 2-0
Windom 2-0
Worthington 1-2
Luverne 0-1
Jackson County Central 0-2
Pipestone 0-2
East Division standings
St. Peter 4-0
Waseca 2-0
Blue Earth Area 2-2
New Ulm 2-2
Fairmont 0-3
St. James Area 0-3
Conference matches only