Bearcats defeat BGMR, WAO for Conference title

By Coach Tina Turn
KCC vs. BGMR
Tuesday, Oct. 8 was a big night in Lancaster when they played host to one of the biggest Northern Lights Conference match-ups of the season. The KCC Bearcats took on the BGMR Gators.
Coming into the match, the Bearcats were 20-5 and BGMR was 18-3. Both teams had swept most of their opponents in three sets so far throughout the season, and both teams were undefeated in Conference play. On top of all that, it was our annual “Dig Pink” night fundraiser, so it was no surprise that it was standing room only in the Lancaster gym. Lots of fans, young and old, came out to watch two teams battle, and all of the players gave the fans a pretty good show.
Early in set one, the Bearcats faced some struggles on serve receive, which resulted in little offense for the first four to five rotations and a 7-2 lead for the Gators. It didn’t take long for KCC to find their groove, though, and they battled back as the rotation came around for the second time. Junior middle hitter, Kaydence White, made her presence known as she pounded down 6 kills, but it was senior, Lauryn Whitlock, who helped the team in the home stretch of the set with a string of 6 serves that kept BGMR out of system. Set one favored the Bearcats 25-19.
Set two was a close battle, with the Bearcats trailing by a point or two most of the time. KCC was down 15-16 when senior outside hitter, Berlyn Strege, played a little cat-and-mouse from the service line and served 4 in a row, including 2 ace serves. That turned the tides and helped the Bearcats take the lead, but it was short-lived as a few KCC errors and some struggles on serve receive had us tied at 20. In the final surge, the Bearcats put together some strong net play, and ended the set on an authoritative double block from White and Whitlock to nab the 25-23 win.
Staying strong and winning the second set was huge, and the Bearcats used that energy to rise in the third set. Both Morgan Turn and Whitlock made a statement at the serving line, combining for 13 serves that ended in Bearcat points. By this point, the Gators had taken both their timeouts and were hoping some subs could switch the momentum, but the Bearcats stood tall and played their game until the end, which was a 25-9 third set win.
Overall serving for the night was strong at 93% and 6 aces, but it was blocking that set the tone and really put the pressure on the Gators. It wasn’t just front-row defense that did its job well; KCC’s overall defense did a superb job picking up a ton of swings, and doing what we call “stealing the bacon,” which is when your defense makes a big play that they then convert into a scoring opportunity. Serve receive passing was just shy of our goal, but it was certainly a strong enough job to keep our offense flowing.
The Gators are a high-energy, hard-hitting team, and we are awfully glad to have taken them in a sweep. Last year, this group may not have been able to come from behind and close out a tight set with a rivalry team, so it’s been fun to see the ways that the girls have improved in their mental toughness since last season. These are important discoveries as we eye playoffs around the corner.
This victory puts the Bearcat record at 21-5, with only two regular-season matches left on the schedule.

To view the individual stats, click this link: Volleyball vs BGMR

JV won 2-0
25-22, 25-10
C-team won 2-0
25-17, 25-17
8th grade won 2-1
25-17, 23-25, 18-16
7th grade won 2-1
25-6, 20-25, 15-6

KCC at WAO
The Bearcats ended the week on the road in Warren with their final away game of the regular season Friday, Oct. 11 as they took on the Ponies of W-A-O.
In set one, the Bearcats started off strong and quickly put the set to bed with a 25-6 score. KCC scored on 13 kills in the opening set. The offense was paced by Kaydence White and Morgan Turn with 4 kills each.
The trouble with the momentum of volleyball is how far the pendulum can swing. A lack of focus on the part of the Bearcats and strong serving by the Ponies made for a very slow start for KCC. The rest of set two was close, and the Bearcats had to come from behind to win 25-23. Low energy and a lot of errors contributed to the close set. In sets one and three, KCC only had a combined 9 errors while in set two alone, the Bearcats had 11 errors.
KCC looked to put the pressure on early, and they did exactly that as they surged ahead for a sizable lead. Despite a rotation error and a loss of 2 points, the Bearcats kept the lead and took the victory 25-12.
The Bearcat record now moves to 22-5, and KCC secured the Northern Lights Conference champions title with this win. They went undefeated in Conference play for the second year in a row. With only one game left of the season, the Bearcats will fight for that win on Monday against Lake of the Woods bears and then start preparing for the playoffs.

To view the individual stats, click this link: Volleyball vs. WAO

JV won 2-0
25-22, 25-12
C-team won 2-1
23-25, 25-15, 15-13
8th grade won 2-0
25-10, 25-19
7th grade lost 2-1
17-25, 25-22, 9-15