Kimberly faced Appleton North in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Saturday. The Papermakers fell just short of the Lightning by a score of 2-1. Unfortunately, that's the fourth time they've come up short against the Lightning this season, with their most recent defeat being a 3-2 loss back in September.
Kian Lamers paced Kimberly's offense, picking up eight kills. Lamers got some help from Blake Zielinski and his 11 assists. Trip Rottier and Alex Krause kept things locked in from the service line: the pair finished with three aces apiece.
Appleton North was led to victory by LANDON KUE and SAOLAI THAO. KUE had 11 digs and two aces, while THAO had eight assists and three digs. That's the most assists THAO has posted over his last two matchups.

Papermakers
| 10/18/25 vs Appleton North | 1-2 |
| 10/18/25 vs Arrowhead | 2-0 |
| 10/18/25 @ Neenah | 2-1 |
| 10/18/25 vs Notre Dame Academy | 2-0 |
| 10/18/25 vs Madison East | 2-0 |
Kimberly moved to 23-9 with that loss, which also ended their five-match winning streak. As for Appleton North, the win (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 30-7.
We've got plenty of inter-conference action coming up soon. Kimberly will take on rival Kaukauna at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Meanwhile, Appleton North is set to square off against their familiar foe Hortonville at 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
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