Bearcats defeat Freeze at Karlstad
By Coach Tina Turn
KCC 3 – NF 0
For the first road game of the 2025 season, the Bearcats traveled to the other side of the county to take on the Northern Freeze in Karlstad on Tuesday, Sept. 2. After an opening-match loss, KCC was looking to move their record to 1 and 1. That’s just what they did with a 3-0 victory over the Freeze.
In set one, both teams botched their opening serve, but for the Bearcats, they kept the errors to a minimum after that. Senior middle hitter Kaydence White soared to score on 6 kills out of her 8 attempts. KCC’s other senior middle hitter, Hanna Warnke, also had a solid start at the net with 3 kills. Sophomore outside hitter, Halle Hansen, added in 3 to help in the 25-14 win.
The Bearcats played a solid set two and came out with a sizable 25-13 win. Serves were tough as evidenced by 6 aces, however, 5 serves were misses. Offensively, five KCC players helped their team with kills. White led the way with 4, while Camryn Whitlock and Warnke each added 3. Gracie Vig and Afton Lindgren each added a single in the victory.
Set three was characterized by Bearcat unforced errors, which gave the Freeze more chances and ended in a much closer score. White had 6 kills in the set, and Warnke added 4 kills, while Nadia Neumiller came in off the bench and powered down 2. KCC held on to the lead to win 25-23. White put the final nail in the coffin with a kill out of the middle.
It felt good to get our first Northern Lights Conference win of the season. The Freeze have a lot of seniors on the court, and they served tough at us during the jamboree. Either NF didn’t serve as hard at us as they did at the jamboree, or our passing has improved because the girls passed well overall, and that makes all the difference in a game. Statistically, our offense performed well above our goal; however, our serving percentage was well below our goal. We will keep working toward consistency and growth. Next up will be a battle with the EGF Greenwave, followed by a tournament in Ada.
Camryn Whitlock goes for a dig during the Bearcats’ match against the Northern Freeze in Karlstad. Whitlock had 3 kills, 3 blocks, 16 assists and served 9/10 including 2 aces. The Bearcats defeated the Freeze in three sets, 25-14, 25-13 and 25-23. (Photo courtesy of KC Media Arts)
KCC Senior Nadia Neumiller uses her power to go up for a ball during the Bearcats’ match in Karlstad against the Northern Freeze. The Bearcats won the match 3-0 with Neumiller contributing 2 kills, 1 dig and serving 3/3 with an ace.
(Photo courtesy of KC Media Arts)
