Bearcats defeat difficult RLF Eagles
By Coach Tina Turn
KCC 3 – RLF 2
KCC kicked off a busy three-day stretch of volleyball action by hosting the Red Lake Falls Eagles in Lancaster on Thursday, Sept. 18—and fans were treated to a nail-biter from start to finish.
The opener set the tone. Senior Afton Lindgren opened with a string of 3 serves that kept the Eagles out of system, but from there the teams traded points with neither able to gain more than a 2-point edge. It was junior Brynn Hennen’s solo block that sealed the deal, giving KCC the 25–23 win.
Set two was all Bearcats thanks to a decisive serving run by Kaydence White. The senior stepped to the line and delivered 10 straight serves, including 2 aces, forcing Red Lake Falls to burn both timeouts early. White’s momentum helped fuel a 13–3 lead that KCC never relinquished in a 25–15 victory. White was dominant at the net as well, slamming down 9 kills in the set, with Hanna Warnke adding 3 more.
The Eagles responded in set three, turning up the heat at the service line. While KCC was perfect from the line, their serve receive faltered, leaving the offense struggling to find rhythm. With just 8 kills recorded, the Bearcats couldn’t keep pace and dropped the set 18-25.
The fourth frame was a battle from the first serve. Both teams exchanged long rallies and clutch plays, but Bearcat errors proved costly. Seventeen miscues swung the momentum to the Eagles, who edged out a 25-22 win to even the match.
Facing a winner-take-all fifth set, KCC regrouped and found a spark from their bench’s energy. Determined to finish strong, the Bearcats played clean, earning 11 of their 15 points outright while limiting mistakes. White fittingly closed out the match with her 29th kill, sealing a 15-10 victory for KCC.
The win came against what many consider the strongest Red Lake Falls squad in recent years. Led by their standout senior middle hitter/setter—one of the section’s best—the Eagles tested the Bearcats on both sides of the net. While she did her damage at the net, KCC’s strategy to capitalize when she rotated to the back row proved effective. The Eagles’ scrappy defense created plenty of exciting rallies, but in the end, the Bearcats’ serving and passing—both above team goals—were keys to securing the hard-fought victory.
To view the stats, click this link: VB vs RLF Eagles
BRYNN HENNEN, #9, gets the block for the KCC Bearcats during their 3-2 win over Red Lake Falls in Lancaster on Sept. 18. Also up to block was Kaydence White. In addition to this block, Hennen had 2 kills, 10 digs, 2 assists and served 19/19. The scores of the match were 25-23, 25-15, 18-25, 22-25 and 15-10. (Photo courtesy of KC Media Arts)
