Sweep Caroline!

Survive and advance, that is what the Wildcats game plan was on Monday night when they knocked off Coeur d’Alene Charter in three sets (25-19, 25-12, & 25-18), what they didn’t expect was just how quickly they would do it.

A loser-out game has the potential to bring out the best in a team, sometimes the best can look like desperation.

Bodies hit the deck, rallies lasted minutes at a time, and the Wildcats finally looked like a team who should be feared.

“We had a lot of energy tonight, and we communicated well which was a big bonus for us,” coach Hollie Yrjana said. “We tend to play better when we have high energy and good communication.”

Things started to get a little sloppy near the end of the third set, which has been a problem for the Wildcats all season.

“I had planned to put my subs in at the end, but got nervous when they let them back in,” Yrjana said. “I had to take a timeout to settle them down and refocus them.”

Kellogg got some really big play from their starters, including great hitting from Kaili Cates and great blocking from Kat Rauenhorst, but it was the serving of two seniors that kept the Wildcats in the lead.

“Maddie (Bush) went 15/18 from the serve line for us and Morgan (Nusz) went 15/15,” Yrjana said. “We do well when our serving looks like that.”

Kellogg advances to Tuesday night’s District I Intermountain League tournament, where they’ll face top-seeded Bonners Ferry at 7 p.m at Bonners Ferry High School .