Kirkwood Volleyball

No. 8 Eagles win twice at tourney

NORFOLK, Neb. - The eighth-ranked Kirkwood volleyball team won both of its matches at the Northeast Tournament in Nebraska Friday.

The Eagles topped Fort Scott, 25-15, 25-19, 17-25, 25-22, in their first contest and spanked Lake Region State College, 25-10, 25-12, 25-8, in their second outing.

Madsy Richards led Kirkwood with 15 kills against Fort Scott. Margaret Micka had nine kills, Alex Miner seven, Morgan Grimm six and Erica Armstrong also had six kills. Caiti Peterson collected 38 assists, Jenna Laxton had 19 digs and Peterson helped on five blocks.

Miner paced the Eagles in the kills department against Lake Region with 10 slams. Richards had eight kills and Grimm had six.

Peterson rolled up 25 more assists against Lake Region.

Kirkwood raised its record to 6-2.

No. 8 Eagles entertain young fans

The Kirkwood volleyball team put on a good show for their special guests at Johnson Hall Wednesday night.

The eighth-ranked Eagles dumped Iowa Lakes, 25-10, 25-11, 25-17, in a conference meet before a crowd that included about 50 young female athletes from Harding Middle School.

"We didn't know they were coming tonight, so it was good to see them all come in," said Kirkwood sophomore Madsy Richards, a Xavier grad. "That was pretty exciting."

A typical crowd for Kirkwood volleyball includes family, friends and Kirkwood student-athletes from other sports, but the Harding girls occupied a big chunk of the bleachers near mid-court, dressed in Harding green and cheering for the Eagles.

"Having little kids there makes the whole thing better," said Kirkwood soph Caiti Peterson, a Cedar Rapids Washington grad.

Kirkwood Coach Jill Williams enjoyed seeing the middle school athletes in the stands.

"It was fun. Heck, yes," she said. "If some girls want to watch volleyball we want them in the gym."

The Eagles got off to a fast start and were never seriously challenged, although Iowa Lakes (3-2) put up a mild fuss in the third set before the Eagles took control again.

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Eagles split 4 matches at Wisconsin Dells

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. - The Kirkwood volleyball team finished with a 2-2 record at a major tournament at the Wisconsin Dells this weekend.

The Eagles blanked South Suburban, 25-8, 25-13, 25-13, in one match Sunday and whipped St. Clair, 25-10, 25-17, 25-17, in their other contest.

Kirkwood lost both of its matches on Saturday. The Eagles fell to Harper College, 25-22, 14-25, 16-25, 25-19, 15-7, after grabbing a 2-1 lead. The Eagles also lost to Parkland, 25-20, 25-15, 25-10.

Madsy Richards led Kirkwood with 36 kills in the tournament. Morgan Grimm had 25 kills and Erica Armstrong finished with 24 kills.

Caiti Peterson collected 112 assists in the four matches and Jenna Laxton had 57 digs.

The split left Kirkwood with a 3-2 record for the young season.

No. 8 Eagles spike Grand View JV

The Kirkwood Eagles did not look like the No. 8 college volleyball team in the country Wednesday night when they dropped the opening set to the Grand View junior varsity, but there was nothing to worry about.

The eighth-ranked Eagles rebounded for a 23-25, 25-14, 25-12, 25-15 victory in the season opener at Johnson Hall.

"We bounced back from that first set really well," said Coach Jill Williams, who liked the way her team performed in the last three sets.

Kirkwood returns five starters from a team that finished seventh at the NJCAA Division II national tournament last year. Williams also brought in eight new freshmen, giving the Eagles a nice blend of youth and experience.

"I do see good things for this group," she said. "I like the chemistry of the team. It's a good mix of personalities. There's a lot of athleticism."

Williams called a timeout after the Eagles fell behind, 9-4, in the first set. They never fully recovered in the opening game, but they got better as the night went along.

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