KCC volleyball team slams W-A-O, Warroad during homecoming week

By Coach Tina Turn
During the second week of school, the Bearcats celebrated Homecoming week with two home volleyball games. The first game of the week was in Hallock on Tuesday, Sept. 13 against the Ponies of Warren-Alvarado-Oslo.
This Northern Lights Conference match-up was the second Conference game in a week for KCC.
The Bearcats jumped to a 5-0 lead in set one behind the serving of Morgan Turn who played cat and mouse with the Ponies serve receive. KCC went on to earn the win 25-16. Fourteen of W-A-O’s 16 points came on Bearcat missed serves and hitting errors. Senior Ella Olson topped the offensive stats column with 6 kills.
Set two was a much more error-free and well-rounded showing for the Bearcats.
Defensively, Berlyn Strege and Turn combined for 7 digs, while Turn opened the set with a string of 12 serves. Senior Aidra Johnson swung eight times in the set and tallied 8 kills, while Olson ticked in 4 herself. The set ended in favor of the Cats 25-12.
It was a slower start for KCC in set three, but 5 aces and 11 kills were a big part of the 25-17 win. Olson and Freshman Kaydence White combined for 7 of those kills.
After our previous five-set matches, we were pleased to get a win in three sets. With the exception of so many hitting errors in set one, the Bearcats played a much more consistent match overall. They served shy of their goal, but ended high on the ace side. Middles Johnson and White were a solid presence at the net defensively as the blockers came away with a season-high 9 blocks. This Conference win moves our record to 5-4.

JV: 25-16, 25-15
C-team: 25-16, 25-12
8th gr.: 25-14, 20-25, 11-15
7th gr.: 25-12, 25-21

For the Bearcat volleyball team’s second homecoming game of the week, they hosted the Warroad Warriors in Lancaster on Thursday, Sept. 15. It was jersey night for the fans, and a big crowd cheered on the Bearcats.
To start set one, KCC had a few hitting errors early on, but they cleaned it up and swung smart to find the floor 15 times in the set. Freshman middle hitter Kaydence White led the stats with 5 kills. The Bearcats had 4 aces in the set but missed 5 serves. Despite their 14 errors, KCC went on to grab a 25-19 win.
Set two was a clean set with only 4 errors and a lot of smart, tough serving. Morgan Turn opened the set with 8 serves and 1 ace. She was followed by Annika Johnson who stepped to the line 13 times in a row to help her team secure the 25-7 win. Aidra Johnson had a match high 6 kills in set two.
In the third set, Lora Gatheridge and White had long serving strings and combined for 4 aces. Ella Olson led with 4 kills. The Warriors made a surge at the end, but the Cats held them off for a 25-20 victory.
Overall serving for the night was 92 percent with 9 aces, an improvement from the last few matches. It was fun to see the team get their passing and hitting on the same page. With 40 kills, 76 attempts,and only 11 errors, the Cats recorded a season high .38 hitting efficiency. That stat makes it so much easier to win. Freshman Afton Lindgren blocked with purpose and led with 3.5 blocks. Setter Turn had a banner night with a double-double of 28 assists and 13 digs. Johnson led the offense with 12 kills with Berlyn Strege also made it to double-digit digs with a solid 10. Three reserves came off the bench and performed well to help their teammates secure the win and move their season record to 6 wins and 4 losses.

JV: 25-20, 25-19
C-team: 21-25, 18-25
8th gr.: 19-25, 20-25
7th gr.: 15-25, 25-23, 15-8