Bearcat volleyball girls defeat the Freeze and Rams on the road

By Coach Tina Turn
KCC vs. NF
It was the second meeting between the KCC Bearcats and the Northern Freeze on Tuesday, Sept. 24. This Northern Lights Conference volleyball action took place in Karlstad.
The first set was characterized by both teams trading points with no one pulling out ahead until senior Morgan Turn stepped to the line and rattled off four serves, racking up an ace in the run. That put a little distance between the Bearcats and the Freeze, and junior Afton Lindgren went on a five-serve run to help her team even more. It was a 25-14 ending in favor of the Cats.
Junior middle hitter, Kaydence White paced the team with 5 kills in the set, followed by senior Berlyn Strege with 3 kills, and Lauryn Whitlock and Turn, each with 2.
Set two had a similar start, but with no significant serving runs in the match, the Bearcats fought to earn their points in several long rallies. The Freeze hit dribbled through our block more than it should have, and that fueled their momentum to make a run at KCC late in the set. The Bearcats held them off, though, and posted a 25-19 win in set two.
White had 2.5 blocks to make a statement at the net, while junior middle hitter Hanna Warnke added a solo block of her own. It was White and Lindgren who combined for the final point of the set, recording a solid double block in the books.
Finally in set three, the Bearcats opened with better energy and went on two serving runs, led by Warnke and Turn, to take an early 10-2 lead. The Freeze defense didn’t roll over; they fought back late in the game and edged their way closer, but with a Warnke kill to end, the Bearcats took the game on a 25-16 third set. White led with 5 kills in the final set.
Overall serving for the night was 88% and 10 aces. Hats off to the Freeze who had really improved defensively since our first contest with them. They picked up a ton of our swings and forced us to battle in some long rallies. Fortunately, most of those rallies ended in our favor. We are glad to have a conference win, and this moves KCC’s record to 13-5.

Click on the link to view the player stats for the game:   Freeze

 

KCC vs. Roseau
To close out a busy month of September, the Bearcats traveled to Roseau to take on the Rams on Thursday, Sept. 26. Even though Roseau is AA and the Bearcats are A, the two teams always seem to have pretty epic battles. The scoreboard shows a sweep for the Bearcats, but the rallies were long, and it was a competitive match.
Out of the gates in set one came the Bearcats firing on all cylinders. Junior middle hitter Kaydence White lit up the net with 5 kills and a block. Senior Morgan Turn chipped in 4 kills of her own, and junior Afton Lindgren lit up the backcourt with 4 digs while senior Berlyn Strege did her part with 3 digs. The Rams played relentless defense, but the Bearcats proved to be unstoppable on offense and won set one with a 25-10 score.
In set two, Turn opened the set with a serving run that included an ace. Tough serving on the part of the Bearcats helped to stave off a Roseau attack. Once again, White led the offense with 7 kills, while senior right side hitter Lauryn Whitlock tacked 3 kills into the stat column. White’s and Whitlock’s huge block took care of business at the net and forced the Rams to try to hit around it. This helped in the Bearcats’ favor as KCC took set two with a 25-13 score, ending on a White ace.
The Rams and the Bearcats were neck-and-neck for about the first 10 points off the third set. That’s when the Bearcats took charge and set the pace for the rest of the set. Not surprisingly, White again led the attack with 6 kills, while both Lindgren and Strege jumped for 3 kills each. The final set ended 25-17 in favor of the Cats.
This was a really fun game for the girls to play in. There was a huge crowd, the crowd was loud, and both teams played with a lot of heart and energy. After this game, we recorded a season-high 12 blocks, which is phenomenal for this team which early on was struggling in this category. Offensively, we put down 40 kills, which is a lot for a three-set match. Passing was another category that deserves a round of applause as KCC exceeded their passing goal of 2.25. With all of those things combined, it made for a truly solid game for the Bearcats, and the big crowd was treated to some stellar volleyball this night. Serving was only 88% with 8 aces, but it got the job done.
Hats off to Roseau for picking up a lot of balls and playing tough at the net. They pushed us hard, and I’m proud of how the Bearcats responded.

Click on the link to view the player stats for the game: Rams