Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

No.7 Eagles raise record to 11-1

Some colleges invite a bunch of weak teams to their tournament and call it a Classic, but that's not how it works for the Kirkwood volleyball program.

The Eagles invited the very best Division II teams in the midwest to their tournament this weekend and got a good idea of where they stand against quality competition.

As it turns out, the Eagles are in good shape.

The tournament featured No.1 Parkland, No.2 Cowley, No.3 Johnson County, No.4 Illinois Central and No.17 Iowa Central, along with Lincoln Land and Central (Neb.).

Kirkwood compiled a 3-1 record in the tournament with victories over Cowley, Iowa Central and Lincoln Land, with the lone loss to Illinois Central.

"What a great tournament," said KCC Coach Jill Williams. "Everybody was battling it out."

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No.7 Eagles win 8th match in row

Heather Poula collected 19 kills and 22 digs Wednesday night as No.7 Kirkwood defeated Northeast (Neb.) Community College, 25-11, 25-23, 22-25, 25-15, in a volleyball match at Johnson Hall.

Halle Lueck distributed 47 assists for the Eagles.

Kirkwood raised its record to 8-0.

Rima casts eye on Prairie baseball job

Kirkwood Community College baseball coach Todd Rima confirmed Monday that he's interested in becoming the new head baseball coach at Cedar Rapids Prairie.

If hired by Prairie, Rima would continue to serve as the head coach at Kirkwood and hold both jobs.

"I would consider it. Yes," Rima remarked when asked if he's interested in the post at Prairie.

Matt Thede resigned as Prairie's baseball coach after the 2014 season to become the athletic director and assistant principal at Mount Vernon High School.

Rocky Bennett, the athletic director at Prairie, confirmed he has spoken to Rima informally about the job, but quickly added that he's spoken to several other potential candidates as well. Bennett said he'd move forward on the selection process in September.

Joe Yegge, the softball coach at Kirkwood, is also the head softball coach at Prairie, so there is precedent for someone doing both jobs. Rima said he has talked to Yegge about the demands of holding both assignments.

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No.7 KCC spikers sweep Iowa Lakes

The seventh-ranked Kirkwood volleyball team raised its record to 6-0 Friday by sweeping Iowa Lakes, 25-15, 25-17, 25-17, in a junior college match at Johnson Hall.

Heather Poula led the Eagles with 15 kills.

Halle Lueck distributed 36 assists and Nicole Snyder had 11 digs.

No. 7 Eagles sweep Ellsworth in volleyball

Heather Poula collected 15 kills Wednesday night as No. 7 Kirkwood swept Ellsworth, 25-22, 25-22, 25-15, in a junior college volleyball match at Ellsworth.

Freshman Halle Lueck had 40 assists for the Eagles (5-0). Nicole Snyder had 11 digs. Becca Bell led the blocking with five.

No.7 Eagles spike 2 ranked foes

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. - The seventh-ranked Kirkwood volleyball ball defeated a pair of ranked teams at the South Suburban Tournament in Wisconsin Dells Saturday.

The Eagles (4-0) swept 13th-ranked Muskegon, 25-16, 25-10, 25-17, and outlasted sixth-ranked Oakland, 19-25, 25-12, 25-18, 17-25, 15-6.

Heather Poula had 11 kills and five aces against Muskegon. Raegan Menke also had 11 kills. Halle Lueck collected 35 assists and four aces. Nicole Snyder had 14 digs.

Poula had 22 kills against Oakland. Lueck contributed 44 assists. Snyder had 14 more digs. Megan Allmandinger had 10 kills. Allmandinger, Payton Hilton and Becca Bell led the blocking against Oakland.

KCC baseball team gets Player of Year

Eric Willis of Waverly-Shell Rock is the latest Iowa prep star to join the Kirkwood Community College baseball team.

Willis, a middle infielder, was named the Player of the Year on the IHSBCA All-State Super Team this season after hitting .457 with five home runs and 45 RBIs as a senior. He also had 13 doubles and four triples.

"We are extremely excited to have a young man of high character like Eric joining our program," said Kirkwood Coach Todd Rima. "We are very proud that the IHSBCA Player of the Year has chosen Kirkwood to continue his education.

"We look forward to helping Eric develop into an outstanding college baseball player."

Willis is the 12th Iowan and 18th player overall to sign with the Eagles for the 2014-15 school year. "It's been a great year for us," said Rima.

Kirkwood also has signed Jay Campbell, a right-handed pitcher from Davenport Assumption, and Eric Dempsey, a second team all-state outfielder from Ames in recent weeks. Campbell went 7-2 with a 2.94 ERA for Assumption, which won the Class 3A state title. Dempsey hit .432 with five homers and 27 RBIs.

Willis is the son of Wartburg football coach and athletic director Rick Willis.

Normally the IHSBCA Player of the Year would have picked a college prior to mid-August, but Willis was still available for Kirkwood.

"With Iowa high school summer ball, a lot of people were full as far as the Division I level," said Rima. "We got lucky."

Rima hauls in 15 players for Kirkwood

Pitching, pitching and more pitching.

That was Todd Rima's primary goal on the recruiting trail this year as he stocked the Kirkwood baseball team for the 2015 campaign.

Mission accomplished, he feels.

Rima has signed 15 new players for next season. Ten of them are pitchers. And nine of the new players are Iowans, another priority.

Three of the new players hail from Illinois and three are from New York.

Rima thinks he's signed the arms he needs to keep improving. Kirkwood finished 30-17 this season and 14-11 in the conference, but he wants more.

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Saladino, Belz to Canada with all-stars

Two Kirkwood softball stars have been named to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Softball All-Star Team.

Graduated sophomores Shyanne Saladino and Sam Belz will compete against the top competition in the world at the Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championship in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada on July 15-21.

Saladino and Belz, both pitchers, will join 14 other NJCAA players from around the country on the team.

Kirkwood head coach Joe Yegge, who was selected to be on the coaching staff, knows just how tough the competition will be versus international teams.

"These teams are the best in the world," he said. "We're going to have to play at the highest level to advance in the tournament. There is no room for error. If you give a team like USA or Japan too many chances you're going to end up on the losing side."

Saladino, who will continue her college career at Missouri Western State University, ranked in the top 10 in the nation in wins (25) and strikeouts (200) this year. She also boasted an ERA of 1.28.

Belz also ranked in the top 10 in wins (24) and had a 1.50 ERA. She will be continuing her career at the University of Northern Iowa.

"Both Shyanne and Sam did really well for us this year," said Yegge. "Not only were both of them near the top in the country statistically, but they brought a toughness that you expect from your team leaders.

"It's that kind of effort that gets you selected to a top-notch team like this. To have two players make the squad speaks volumes for our program here at Kirkwood."