Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Eagles earn spot in regional finals

FORT DODGE - The ninth-ranked Kirkwood Eagles will face seventh-ranked Iowa Central in the championship match of the NJCAA XI-A regional volleyball tournament Sunday in Fort Dodge.

The Eagles edged DMACC, 3-2, in the regional semifinals Saturday by winning the fifth set, 15-13. Iowa Central advanced with a 3-0 sweep of Southeastern in the semifinals.

The championship match between Kirkwood (30-8) and Iowa Central (28-9) is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

Kirkwood gained a measure of revenge against DMACC in the semifinals by winning 13-25, 25-16, 25-20, 22-25, 15-13. The Bears defeated Kirkwood in an ICCAC conference match, 3-1, on Aug. 29.

Kirkwood was seeded No. 5 in the regional tournament and DMACC was seeded No. 4, so the victory by Kirkwood was considered a mild upset.

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Usher picks Louisville; Jackson to Illinois

Two more baseball players from Kirkwood Community College will be headed to NCAA Division I schools after they play for the Eagles in 2019.

Levi Usher, a Cedar Rapids Prairie grad who is currently a freshman at Kirkwood, has accepted an offer from the University of Louisville.

Taylor Jackson, who helped Kirkwood reach the NJCAA Division II World Series last season, plans to continue his college baseball career at the University of Illinois.

Usher, an outfielder, hit .468 with seven home runs, 34 RBIs and 37 stolen bases at Prairie as a junior in 2017. He hit .381 with two homers and 37 RBIs as a senior after recovering from a broken leg.

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No. 9 Eagles drop 5-set match

NORFOLK, Neb. - The Kirkwood women's volleyball team lost to Northeast Community College in five sets Tuesday night, 17-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-14, 15-13, in an ICCAC conference match on the road.

The ninth-ranked Eagles enjoyed a 2-1 lead after three sets, but the Eagles were not able to finish the job in the final match of the regular season.

Kirkwood fell to 29-8 overall and 5-4 in the conference. The Eagles will be the No. 5 seed for the regional tournament this Saturday and Sunday.

Northeast raised its records to 17-13 overall and 8-1 in the league.

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No. 13 Eagles enjoy Sophomore Night

The Kirkwood women's volleyball team had a simple goal on Sophomore Night at Johnson Hall Wednesday.

Collect an impressive victory, give everyone a chance to play and get ready for the postseason tournament next week.

Mission accomplished.

The 13th-ranked Eagles rolled by Ellsworth, 25-10, 25-13, 25-12, on a night when their graduating sophomores got to take center stage with their parents and family.

"We had some fun with it and I thought we played pretty good volleyball," said Coach Jill Williams.

The Eagles raised their records to 29-7 overall and 5-3 in the ICCAC Conference with one match left in the regular season.

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Peters, Eagles win JUCO golf tourney

PLYMOUTH, Ind. - Dawson Peters and the Kirkwood Eagles emerged as the big winners at the NJCAA Division II National Preview at the Swan Lake Resort Black Course Saturday in Plymouth, Ind.

Peters won the individual title with a 1-over-par 145 with rounds of 71 and 74 in the 36-hole tournament. James Morgan and George Kalpakas of Kirkwood tied for second place at 3-over 147. Will Babcock tied for seventh for the Eagles at 7-over 151.

Kirkwood trailed Parkland College by one shot after the first round Friday, but the Eagles pulled away for an 11-shot victory.

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Aldrich-Ingram helps KCC 'kill' foes

FORT DODGE - Alexa Aldrich-Ingram became the national leader in kills Saturday as the 12th-ranked Kirkwood Eagles swept both of their matches at the Iowa Central tournament in Fort Dodge.

Ingram collected 28 kills in the two matches, raising her NJCAA Division II national total to 538 in 35 contests.

Kirkwood swept Rock Valley, 25-10, 25-7, 25-18, and blanked Carl Sandburg, 25-15, 27-25, 25-17, to finish the tournament with a 3-1 record. The Eagles have a 28-7 overall mark for the season.

Abbi Tunis had nine blocks against Rock Valley. Aldrich-Ingram and Haleigh Durnin had seven apiece. Lauren Keane provided 25 assists. Aldrich-Ingram had three aces. Hannah Huss and Keane finished with eight digs.

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Peters fires ace for KCC golfers

PLYMOUTH, Ind. - Dawson Peters collected the first hole-in-one of his  career Friday to help the Kirkwood Eagles make a strong showing at the  NJCAA Division II National Preview at the Swan Lake Resort Black  Course in Plymouth, Ind.

Peters fired his ace on the 16th hole, which measures 196 yards from  tee to cup.

Parkland College took the lead in the 36-hole tournament with a team  score of 2-over-par 290, but Kirkwood is just one shot behind at 291  heading into the final round Saturday.

Peters is tied for second place in the individual standings at 1-under  71, followed by three more Kirkwood golfers. James Morgan is fourth  with an even-par 72, with George Kalpakas and Ryan Morrison tied for  fifth place at 2-over 74.

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Eagles edged by No. 5 Cowley

FORT DODGE - The 12th-ranked Kirkwood Eagles were trimmed by  fifth-ranked Cowley County, 3-2, in the opening round of the Iowa  Central volleyball tournament Friday in Fort Dodge.

The Eagles rebounded with a 3-0 victory over the Grand View junior  varsity in their second match.

Cowley and Kirkwood split their first two sets. Cowley won the  marathon third set, 31-29, but the Eagles rebounded with a 25-14  victory to square the match at 2-2. Cowley took the fifth set, 15-12.

Lauren Keane rolled up 46 assists against Cowley. Alexa Aldrich-Ingram  had 25 kills, Sami Johnson 12 and Haleigh Durnin 10. Maddie Lavenz  contributed 23 digs and Chloe McNeese had 14. Aldrich-Ingram and Abbi  Tunis blocked six shots.

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Eagles bumped from ICCAC volleyball race

FORT DODGE - The Kirkwood women's volleyball team lost a five-set  heartbreaker to Iowa Central Wednesday night and was eliminated from  the race for the ICCAC conference title.

Kirkwood held a 2-1 lead after three sets, but Iowa Central took the  fourth set to set up a decisive showdown. The Tritons prevailed in  overtime in the fifth set, 19-17, to win the match 20-25, 25-19,  20-25, 25-13, 19-17.

Iowa Central raised its ICCAC mark to 7-0, good for a one-game lead  over Hawkeye and Northeast and a two-game edge over DMACC. Kirkwood  fell to 4-3 overall, and with only two matches left in the league the  Eagles cannot win the title this season.

Alexa Aldrich-Ingram, the reigning ICCAC Conference Player of the  Week, collected a personal-best 30 kills against Iowa Central. She  ranks second in the country with 475 kills for the year.

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