Scrappy. Athletic. Young.

That's the early scouting report for the Kirkwood women's volleyball team for the 2017 campaign.

The seventh-ranked Eagles swept the Grand View junior varsity, 25-14, 25-9, 25-18 in the season opener Wednesday night with a balanced attack at Johnson Hall.

The youthful Eagles feature 11 freshmen and only three sophomores on the club, but Coach Jill Williams liked what she saw after three weeks of camps and practices.

"I liked the energy, I liked the effort, I liked the bounce," she said after the match.

Kirkwood has finished seventh in the NJCAA Division II national tournament the last two years and Williams thinks she has another competitive team this season.

"That's something we talk about often: To protect the tradition. That's something that's expected," said Williams, in her 13th season as head coach.

"I think they set their sights on it. Who wouldn't?

"We're trying to give ourselves a snapshot of what wee want people to see from us," she said. "Scrappy and determined are two of the terms  they've thrown at me often."

Margaret Micka and Alexa Whipple gained valuable experience last year as freshmen, but McKenzie Petersen missed most of the 2016 campaign with an injury.

The rest of the players are rookies, but they all distinguished themselves as high school players in Iowa.

Whipple led the balanced attack Wednesday night with seven kills.  Micka and Ady Wintermote had six kills, while Haleigh Durnin and Abbi Tunis had five kills.

"It was good to see," said Williams. "It was coming from all  directions. I really like that about this group."

Lauren Keane collected 17 assists and Grace Swenning had 11. Micka finished with 12 digs and Brianna Eberhardt had 11. Micka had three  aces.

Kirkwood will play four matches at a tournament in the Wisconsin Dells this weekend, beginning with a game against third-ranked Owens.

ROSTER

Margaret Micka, 5-8, Soph, Bettendorf
Hailey Borgmeyer, 5-9, Frosh, Forest City
Brianna Eberhardt, 5-3, Frosh, Mediapolis
McKenzie Petersen, 5-11, Soph, Clinton
Lauren Keane, 5-8, Frosh, Williams
Alexa Whipple, 5-9, Soph, Story City
Brittiney Harris, 5-11, Frosh, Fort Madison
Nyadoar Gatwech, 6-3, Frosh, Marshalltown
Ady Wintermote, 5-11, Frosh, Jewell
Haleigh Durnin, 5-8, Frosh, Dike
Abbi Tunis, 6-0, Frosh, Davenport
Madison Lavenz, 5-8, Frosh, Stout
Hannah Promes, 5-8, Frosh, Jefferson
Grace Swenning, 5-5, Frosh, Iowa City