Bearcats defeat Freeze and Rams

By Coach Tina Turn
KCC vs. NF
It was the second meeting between the Northern Freeze and the KCC Bearcats on Tuesday, Sept. 26 in Karlstad. Both teams came to battle for the Northern Lights Conference win, and the first set was a battle indeed. The Freeze came out of the gates serving tough at the Bearcats’ serve receive. KCC didn’t pass as well as they could have and played out of system more than they would have liked to. The Bearcats took two timeouts late in the set, when down 20-22 and 22-24. After the second timeout, Berlyn Strege served tough for 2 to tie it up, and then the Cats went on to win in extra points, 27-25.
The second set had the Bearcats playing with a lot more energy. They cut their errors from 12 to 6, and they played a better cat and mouse serving game at the line. Those factors, plus 4 huge kills from sophomore middle hitter Kaydence White and 5 kills from junior middle hitter Lauryn Whitlock paced the team for a 25-16 win. It was a Whitlock “Happy Birthday” kill that notched point 25.
The Bearcats maintained a steady, aggressive pace in set three. White knocked home 6 of her 13 kills while both setters combined for 15 digs in the third set to keep their team alive on offense. It was Afton Lindgren’s serving that brought her team home as she ended the night with 2 aces and a 25-17 win.
KCC served 92 percent on the night, with 8 aces, and this conference win moves their season record to 12 wins and 6 losses. Strege, Turn and Lindgren each recorded a double-double in the match.
KCC vs. Roseau
The KCC Bearcats celebrated Homecoming the week of Sept. 25, and on Thursday, Sept. 28, they hosted the Roseau Rams in Hallock for their Homecoming game.
Set one was all Bearcats as the team was firing on all pistons. Sophomore middle hitter Kaydence White proved she was hard to stop at the net as she recorded 7 kills to pace the team. Morgan Turn added in 3 while Hanna Warnke scored on a couple swings. KCC served tough in the set, giving up only 1 point on a service error. The Bearcats surged ahead for a big 25-9 win.
In the second set, KCC committed a few more errors, let a couple of Rams tips drop untouched, and felt a dip in their energy. All of those things made set two a closer race to 25, but it was the Bearcats who ultimately came out on top 25-18, off a White slam into the backcourt.
KCC jumped to an early 5-1 lead, but they failed to score for four rotations. Committing the most errors of the night in the third set, the Bearcats almost let the Rams back in it near the end of the set as Roseau started swinging a little harder, but the defense came up big and kept feeding our setters who did a great job distributing the ball. KCC held off their charge and won 25-21 on a beautiful Whitlock kill.
It’s always nice to get a win over an AA team like Roseau. The girls wanted to come out tonight and really set the tone, and that’s just what they did in the opening set. Volleyball momentum took a little wind out of their sails in the second and third set, but they kept playing to win and playing as a team and ultimately came out on top in straight sets. I think they gave the crowd a good show tonight, and this win moves the Bearcat season record to 13 wins and 6 losses. Both setters, Morgan Turn and Afton Lindgren ended the night with a double-double.

       BEARCATS VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS celebrate a point during the Homecoming game on Thursday, Sept. 28 against the Roseau Rams. The team won the contest in 3 sets with scores of 25-9, 25-18, 25-21. (Photos courtesy of KC Media Arts)

SOPHOMORE HANNA WARNKE goes low for a dig during the game against the Northern Freeze in Karlstad on Tuesday, Sept. 25. She is flanked by Lily Peterson and Afton Lindgren. Warnke had 11 digs in the game. The Bearcats won the game in 3 sets — 27-25, 25-16, 25-17. The team served 92 percent on the night.

LAURYN WHITLOCK prepares to serve the ball against Roseau on Thursday, Sept. 28. The junior had 7 kills, 2 digs, 1 ace and 5/8 serves during the game.