Kirkwood Volleyball

Kirkwood - Volleyball

Haleigh Durnin of Kirkwood blocks a shot during Wednesday night's volleyball match against Iowa Lakes at Johnson Hall. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion)

No. 12 Eagles roll by Iowa Lakes

Thu - 04 Oct Written by Jim Ecker

There's a lot to like about the Kirkwood women's volleyball team so far this season.

The Eagles have a sparkling 22-4 record, they've knocked off five ranked teams and they're sporting a No. 12 national ranking themselves.

They might not win the ICCAC Conference title this season as a result of two losses to ranked opponents, but they're putting themselves in a good position to challenge for a spot in the NJCAA Division II national tournament in November.

Kirkwood rolled by Iowa Lakes, 25-14, 25-16, 25-13, in a conference match at Johnson Hall Wednesday night for its 12th victory in their last 13 contests.

The only loss during that streak was a five-set defeat to 11th-ranked Hawkeye Community College in an ICCAC match last week.

"It was important to bounce back in a conference match and advance our level of play," Kirkwood Coach Jill Williams said Wednesday. "It sets us up for another weekend with top-notch tournament.

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Kirkwood - Volleyball

No. 8 Eagles trim No. 19 Cougars

Fri - 28 Sep Written by Metro Sports Report

EAST PEORIA, Ill. - Alexa Ingram collected 22 kills Friday as the eighth-ranked Kirkwood Eagles rallied to edge 19th-ranked Illinois Central, 25-23, 18-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-10 in a triangular meet in Illinois.

Ingram also had 16 kills as Kirkwood defeated Jefferson College, 25-23, 25-22, 17-25, 25-17 in their first match at the event.

Sami Johnson had 11 kills, Maddie Huff 10 and Abbi Tunis nine in the five-set victory over Illinois Central. Lauren Keane rolled up 46 assists in the victory. Haleigh Durnin had 11 kills, Maddie Lavenz 10, Johnson 10 and Ingram eight. Tunis blocked four shots.

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Kirkwood - Volleyball

Haleigh Durnin of Kirkwood blocks a shot during Wednesday night's match at Johnson Hall. Number 8 for Hawkeye Community College is Hannah Mihm. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion)

No. 8 Eagles stung by new RedTails

Thu - 27 Sep Written by Jim Ecker

Scott Weston had an unusual recruiting pitch when he began constructing a brand-new women's volleyball program at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo roughly a year ago.

"You beg," he said Wednesday night.

The begging worked.

The young RedTails invaded Johnson Hall with 13 freshmen and stung the eighth-ranked Kirkwood Eagles in five sets, 25-22, 20-25, 13-25, 25-18, 15-8, in an ICCAC conference match.

Weston was hired to put a new team together from scratch in August of 2017, laying the groundwork for Hawkeye's first season of competition this year. All 14 of his players are from Iowa, including a bunch from the college's fertile base Blackhawk County.

He has talented players from Waterloo, LaPorte City, Tripoli, Jesup, Reinbeck, Evansdale, Dumont, Manly and Sigourney.

"It was pretty easy," Weston maintained, "because a lot of these girls wanted to be on the ground floor of something brand new, their opportunity to put their footprint right in the program. It's worked out to our advantage so far."

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Kirkwood - Volleyball

No. 10 Eagles cruise at Parkland

Fri - 21 Sep Written by Metro Sports Report

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The 10th-ranked Kirkwood volleyball team sailed to a pair of straight-set victories at the Parkland tournament Friday.

The Eagles swept John A. Logan, 25-21, 25-11, 25-20 in their first match and defeated Southwestern Illinois, 25-13, 25-15, 25-7 in their second contest in Illinois.

Maddie Lavenz collected 41 digs in the two matches. Abbi Tunis had 21 kills. Alexa Ingram finished with 18 kills, nine digs and six blocks.

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Kirkwood - Volleyball

No. 10 KCC volleyball sweeps Southeastern

Thu - 20 Sep Written by Metro Sports Report

WEST BURLINGTON - Abbi Tunis collected nine kills and six blocked shots Wednesday night as the 10th-ranked Kirkwood women's volleyball team swept Southeastern, 25-23 25-12, 25-22.

Alexa Ingram furnished 12 kills, 17 digs and four blocks for Kirkwood. Haleigh Durnin had seven kills. Maddie Huff finished with six kills and five blocks.

Lauren Keane rolled up 33 assists in three sets.

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