Metro Sports Report

Bell helps Mustangs ring Graceland

Maddie Bell blocked eight shots and collected eight kills Friday night as the Mount Mercy women's volleyball team defeated Graceland, 25-20, 25-22, 18-25, 25-21, in a Heart of America Conference match at the Hennessey Recreation Center.

Alyssa Weldon let the attack at the net with 16 kills for the Mustangs and Olivia Coe had 15. Kayla Daggett rolled up 41 assists in the four sets. Lauren Stopko had 33 digs and Weldon had 11. Daggett blocked five shots.

Kirkwood claims 'international' match

The girls from Iowa beat the girls from Brazil Thursday night.

The Kirkwood women's volleyball team clipped Indian Hills, 21-25, 25-20, 25-20, 18-25, 15-9 in an exciting match that had an international flair at Johnson Hall.

Indian Hills has 12 players from Brazil on its 15-girl roster, along with one player from Serbia, one from South Australia and one from Ottumwa.

All 15 of Kirkwood's players are home-grown products from Iowa and Thursday night the Iowans won.

Kirkwood Coach Jill Williams has coached at the international level during her career and has seen Indian Hills stock its roster with players from all over the world before.

"That's kind of their forte in Division I, to go the international route," said Williams. "My forte is to find what's right here in Iowa and right in our backyard and let's roll."

Subs help No. 13 Eagles dump Southwestern

Kirkwood volleyball coach Jill Williams dug a little deeper into her bench Wednesday night and got the results she wanted.

The 13th-ranked Eagles spanked Southwestern, 25-17, 25-17, 25-10, in a quick 70-minute match at Johnson Hall.

Kirkwood trailed early in the second set when Williams put Madi Wagaman onto the floor as a setter and the 5-foot-9 freshman from Springville helped spark the team.

"That's the first time she's been put into the driver's seat to run the show without us having a big lead," said Williams, who liked the way Wagaman responded. "Madi does it every day (in practice) on the other side of the net. I felt confident in her."

Wagaman did not play in the first set, but she joined the rotation for the rest of the night and finished with 10 assists, two kills, two digs and two blocks.

Freshmen Maranda Wheelock, Abbie Ericson and Taylor Carey also got into the match for the Eagles as reserves. Ericson collected four kills in her only set.

Mustangs spiked by William Penn

The Mount Mercy women's volleyball team let an opportunity for a conference victory slip away Tuesday night.

The Mustangs lost to William Penn, 20-25, 25-15, 27-25, 25-19, in a Heart of American Conference match at the Hennessey Recreation Center.

Mount Mercy had a 25-24 lead in the third set and needed just one more point to take a 2-1 lead in the match, but the Lady Statesmen rolled off three straight points to grab the third set for themselves in overtime, 27-25.

William Penn took a pair of eight-point leads in the fourth set and sealed the victory from there.

The outcome left both teams with 1-1 records in the conference. Mount Mercy fell to 11-3 overall. William Penn raised its mark to 10-4.