Belle Plaine at Jordan
7:15 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 2

While a 10-minute drive on Highway 169 separates Belle Plaine and Jordan in Scott County, the gap between the Tigers and the Jaguars is even smaller on the volleyball court.

The two Minnesota River Conference superpowers have a combined seven appearances in the last nine state tournaments and signs seem to point that the road to the state tournament in St. Paul will again run through one of these two towns.

Belle Plaine, the No. 3 team in the coaches association's Class 2A rankings, may be in for a bumpy ride early on. Mariena Hayden, the Tigers’ best player, is expected to miss at least a month with a back injury. Hayden, a sophomore outside hitter, was the Minnesota River Conference MVP and earned All-State honors as a freshman. Despite Hayden's absence, Belle Plaine (1-0) opened its season with a 3-0 victory at Le Sueur-Henderson last Tuesday.

Led by longtime coach Colleen Chambers and her sophomore setter daughter Lexie Chambers, Jordan (No. 6 in 2A) is 2-1 with its only loss to Class 3A power Hopkins. The younger Chambers missed last season with a knee injury and the Jaguars lost their three matchups with Belle Plaine including a five-set loss in the Section 2AA quarterfinals.