Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

KCC volleyball sweeps through Nebraska

NORFOLK, Neb. - The Kirkwood women's volleyball team enjoyed a perfect performance at the NECC Tournament in Nebraska this weekend.

The Eagles swept all four of their matches by 3-0 tallies and outscored their four opponents, 306-211, over the course of two days.

Kirkwood brushed aside Fort Scott, 25-18, 25-17, 25-16 in their first match Saturday and dumped Lake Region, 25-13, 25-19, 25-16 in their second outing of the day.

The Eagles swept Central (Neb.) and Southeast (Neb.) on Friday.

Lauren Keane played a big part in Kirkwood's success Saturday with 61 assists, 13 digs, four kills and four blocks.

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KCC volleyball team rolls in Nebraska

NORFOLK, Neb. - The Kirkwood women's volleyball team rolled to a pair of straight-set victories at the NECC Tournament in Nebraska Friday.

The Eagles whipped Southeast Community College, 25-22, 25-22, 25-5, and knocked off Nebraska Central, 25-15, 31-29, 25-19 for a perfect day.

Alexa Ingram collected 31 kills in the two matches, including a whopping 22 kills against Central. She also had 25 digs.

Lauren Keane contributed 62 assists and 15 digs. Haleigh Durnin had 12 kills Friday. Sami Johnson produced 11 kills and 14 digs. Maddie Huff blocked six shots against Southeast.

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Kirkwood volleyball spiked by DMACC

BOONE - The Kirkwood women's volleyball team was trimmed by DMACC, 25-22, 24-26, 25-21, 25-21, in the conference opener for both squads Wednesday night in Boone.

Alexa Ingram led the Eagles with 13 kills. Abbi Tunis had nine kills, Haleigh Durnin eight, Maddie Huff five and Sami Johnson five.

Lauren Keane collected 37 assists for Kirkwood. Maddie Lavenz had 15 digs and Keane had 13. Huff blocked five shots.

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Kuch wins Hall of Fame scholarship

Lauren Kuch of Kirkwood was awarded the Cedar Rapids Softball Hall of Fame scholarship Sunday afternoon during a ceremony at Ellis Park.

The Hall of Fame committee awards a scholarship every year to a local high school graduate who is playing softball at Kirkwood.

Kuch, an outfielder, hit .469 with 12 homers and 68 RBIs this past season as a freshman and was named a Junior College All-American.

Kirkwood reached the NJCAA Division II World Series and finished the 2018 season with a 49-13 record.

KCC volleyball sweeps 2 matches

SUGAR GROVE, Ill. - The Kirkwood volleyball team swept both of its matches at the Waubonsee Tournament Saturday to finish the event with a 3-1 record.

The Eagles cruised by South Suburban, 25-10, 25-13, 25-20, and blanked Illinois Valley, 25-20, 25-14, 25-16.

Alexa Ingram led a balanced attack at the net with 19 kills in the two matches. Sam Johnson collected 18 kills, Haleigh Durnin 13, Abbi Tunis 13 and Maddie Huff 10.

Lauren Keane rolled up 54 assists in the two matches.

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Kirkwood spikes No. 10 Sauk Valley

SUGAR GROVE, Ill. - The Kirkwood women's volleyball tournament upset 10th-ranked Sauk Valley, 25-27, 25-21, 25-23, 25-9, at the Waubonsee Tournament in the Chicago suburbs Friday.

The Eagles lost to Moraine Valley, 3-1, in their other match.

Lauren Keane rolled up 96 assists in the two matches and Alexa Ingram had 38 kills.

Keane collected 49 assists in the upset victory over Sauk Valley. Ingram contributed 21 kills and seven digs. Maddie Huff had 13 kills. Abbi Tunis provided 10 kills and four blocks. Sam Johnson chipped in with seven kills and nine digs. Haleigh Durnin had six kills and five blocks. Maddie Lavenz had six digs.

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Kirkwood volleyball team sweeps opener

Volleyball players come and go at Kirkwood Community College with the passage of time, but one things remains the same with the Eagles.

Consistency.

Kirkwood has been a consistent national power and conference juggernaut under Coach Jill Williams for more than a decade with a steady influx of talented players who know how to play the game.

"We have a philosophy, we have a style," said Williams, beginning her 14th season at Kirkwood. "And obviously in our recruiting, we try to find kids that we think can fit into what we do.

"Some of it has to be adjusted, according to the players we get," she continued. "That's the fun we have on the sideline, how we put toether our game plan."

The Eagles began the 2018 season Wednesday night by sweeping the Grand View junior varsity, 25-16, 25-22, 25-15, at Johnson Hall with a typically balanced attack.

"It's always nice to get the first one in the 'W' column, especially at home," said Williams. "That's a lot of pressure: First week of school, all the students are back.

"We've been doing our own thing in practice for three weeks. Now there's people around us. And I just hoped there's not a case of stage fright. I think they did a great job coming out ready to play."

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Eric Frese named Kirkwood softball coach

Eric Frese is returning to Eastern Iowa to become the new softball coach at Kirkwood Community College.

Frese replaces Joe Yegge, who left Kirkwood after 11 seasons this summer to become the associate head coach at DePaul University.

Frese, who is from Norway, has been the head baseball coach at Wisconsin-Platteville for the past 12 years.

Frese has also been serving as an assistant softball coach at Dubuque Hempstead High School where his wife, Alisha Frese, is the head coach. Alisha Frese played softball at Kirkwood.

"We have offered and he has accepted the position," Kirkwood athletic director Doug Wagemester confirmed Friday afternoon. "That happened this morning. We're fired up."

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Halvorson joining Yegge at DePaul

Natalie Halvorson played softball for Joe Yegge at Cedar Rapids  Prairie and then joined him at Kirkwood a year ago.

Now she'll be following her coach to DePaul University in Chicago.

Halvorson has decided to leave Kirkwood after one season and head to  DePaul, where Yegge has been named the new associate head coach of the  Blue Demons in the Big East Conference.

"Life never really goes how you plan, right?" Halvorson mused on her  social media account.

Halvorson compiled a 26-9 record and 2.51 earned run average this past  season as a freshman at Kirkwood and was named a junior college  All-American. She struck out 162 batters in 184 1/3 innings, with only  25 walks. Her 26 victories tied for the third-most in the country.

Halvorson was looking forward to pitching for the Eagles again next  season, but that changed last week when Yegge accepted an offer from  new DePaul Coach Tracie Adix-Zins as her top assistant.

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