Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Richards family excels in volleyball

When it comes to premier volleyball in Cedar Rapids these days, it's hard to top the Richards family and the three talented sisters who are playing at Kirkwood and Xavier.

Madsy Richards, a sophomore at Kirkwood, leads the fourth-ranked Eagles in kills and was named the national junior college player of the week for Sept. 5 through Sept. 11.

Charlotte Richards, a junior at Xavier, leads the sixth-ranked Saints in kills and is one of the top players in the state. And Olivia Richards, a sophomore at Xavier, has helped the Saints win all 15 of their matches this season.

"It's really cool," Madsy Richards said Wednesday night after Kirkwood swept Ellsworth, 25-14, 25-18, 25-18, for its 13th straight victory. "This year both teams are doing really well.

"Xavier is having a phenomenal year and they have a new coach (Austin Filer). I think they're really enjoying that and all the new stuff he brings to the program.

"And at Kirkwood we're doing really well. Our chemistry is really good and we're just taking care of business."

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Even ties for title at Mount Mercy golf

Jordan Even of Kirkwood tied for first place at the Mount Mercy Fall Classic on Sunday at Hunters Ridge with a final score of 4-under-par 140 for the 36-hole tournament.

Even shared the title with Sergio Garcio of Mount Mercy.

Indian Hills ran away with the team championship with a 36-hole tally of 3-under 573. Kirkwood finished in fourth place.

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Indian Hills 573, 2. Mount Mercy 587, 3. Missouri Valley 590, 4. Kirkwood 591, 5. Culver-Stockton 592, 6. Nebraska Wesleyan 610, 7. Graceland 612, 8. Mount Mercy B 612, 9. Missouri Valley C 613, 10. Quincy 617, 11. Black Hawk 620, 13. Simpson 633, 14. Waldorf 639, 15. Wartburg 643, 16. Coe 662, 17. Buena Vista 709.

KIRKWOOD: 1. (tie) Jordan Even 71-69=140, 10. (tie) JD Goodfellow 72-75+147, 14. (tie) Charles Hartwig 74-74=148, 57. (tie) Max Thrune 78-80=158, 68. (tie) Niall Powell 82-78=160.

KIRKWOOD B: 28. (tie) Jake Sevcik 75-76=151, 28. (tie) Luke Winker 77-74=151, 28. (tie) Louis Flynn 76-75=151.

Kirkwood golf in tight battle

The Kirkwood men's golf team finds itself in the thick of a tight battle heading into the final round of the Mount Mercy Fall Invitational Sunday at Hunters Ridge.

The top four teams in the tournament were separated by just three shots after the first round Saturday with Missouri Valley at 293, Indian Hills at 294, Kirkwood at 295 and Mount Mercy at 296. Culver-Stockton is just another two shots back at 298.

Chad Nitz of Mount Mercy grabbed the 18-hole lead at 70. Jordan Even of Kirkwood is in second place at 71 and J.D. Goodfellow of Kirkwood is tied for third at 72.

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Missouri Valley 293, 2. Indian Hills 294, 3. Kirkwood 295, 4. Mount Mercy 296, 5. Culver-Stockton 298, 6. Nebraska Wesleyan 303, 7. Grand View 305, 8. Graceland 309, 9. (tie) Quincy 311, Saint Ambrose 311, 11. Missouri Valley II 312, 12. (tie) Black Hawk 314, Mount Mercy II 314, 14. Waldorf 325, 15. Simpson 327, 16. Wartburg 328, 17. Coe 334, 18. Buena Vista 354.

KIRKWOOD: Jordan Even 71, J.D. Goodfellow 72, Charlie Hartwig 74, Max Thrune 78, Niall Powell 82.

Kirkwood volleyball wins own tourney

The eighth-ranked Kirkwood volleyball team finished with a 4-0 record in its own tournament at Johnson Hall this weekend.

The Eagles swept Johnson County, 25-23, 27-25, 25-21, in a tight match Saturday and also swept McHenry, 25-22, 25-22, 25-15.

Kirkwood also won both of its matches Friday and has a 13-2 record this season.

Madsy Richards led the Eagles with nine kills against Johnson County. Alex Miner had nine kills, Morgan Grimm had seven, Erica Armstrong six and Riley Longden six in a balanced attack.

Caiti Peterson contributed 34 assists against Johnson County. Jenna Laxton had 20 digs.

Richards collected 12 kills against McHenry. Miner had 10 slams, Grimm had six and Armstrong five. Peterson furnished 31 assists and had 11 digs.

No. 8 Eagles win twice in tourney

The eighth-ranked Kirkwood volleyball team won both of its matches in the Kirkwood tournament at Johnson Hall Friday.

The Eagles blanked Illinois Central, 25-17, 25-14, 25-21, in their first match, but they had to rally for a 25-21, 18-25, 20-25, 25-15, 15-6 verdict in their second contest against Cowley.

Madsy Richards led Kirkwood with 13 kills against Cowley. Caiti Peterson collected 36 assists. Richards had 19 digs, Jenna Laxton 18 digs and Peterson 17 digs. Erica Armstrong and Richards led the blocking at the net.

Kirkwood (11-2) has two more matches in the tournament Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Kirkwood volleyball sweeps Iowa Central

FORT DODGE - Madsy Richards collected 15 kills Wednesday night as the eighth-ranked Kirkwood volleyball team began the conference race by sweeping Iowa Central, 25-12, 25-15, 25-16, in Fort Dodge.

Erica Armstrong added eight kills for the Eagles, who raised their overall record to 9-2.

Caiti Peterson had 28 assists and 11 digs for Kirkwood. Richards and Jenna Laxton provided nine digs and Margaret Micka had eight digs.

Alex Miner helped blocked five shots at the net and had a solo block.

Eagles finish 4-0 at Nebraska tourney

NORFOLK, Neb. - The eighth-ranked Kirkwood Eagles won all four of their matches at the Northeast Tournament in Nebraska this weekend.

Kirkwood topped Southeast (Neb.), 25-15, 25-12, 25-16, and also defeated North Dakota Science, 25-7, 25-20, 25-15, on Saturday. The Eagles also won both of their matches on Friday and own an 8-2 record this season.

Alex Miner led Kirkwood with nine kills against Southeast. Madsy Richards, Margaret Micka and Morgan Grimm all had seven kills. Caiti Peterson contributed 27 assists and Jenna Laxton had 11 digs.

Richards paced Kirkwood with 10 kills against North Dakota Science. Micka had eight kills. Erica Armstrong, Miner and Grimm had six apiece. Peterson had 30 more assists and Laxton had 12 more digs. Richards and Peterson had 11 digs.

No. 8 Eagles win twice at tourney

NORFOLK, Neb. - The eighth-ranked Kirkwood volleyball team won both of its matches at the Northeast Tournament in Nebraska Friday.

The Eagles topped Fort Scott, 25-15, 25-19, 17-25, 25-22, in their first contest and spanked Lake Region State College, 25-10, 25-12, 25-8, in their second outing.

Madsy Richards led Kirkwood with 15 kills against Fort Scott. Margaret Micka had nine kills, Alex Miner seven, Morgan Grimm six and Erica Armstrong also had six kills. Caiti Peterson collected 38 assists, Jenna Laxton had 19 digs and Peterson helped on five blocks.

Miner paced the Eagles in the kills department against Lake Region with 10 slams. Richards had eight kills and Grimm had six.

Peterson rolled up 25 more assists against Lake Region.

Kirkwood raised its record to 6-2.

No. 8 Eagles entertain young fans

The Kirkwood volleyball team put on a good show for their special guests at Johnson Hall Wednesday night.

The eighth-ranked Eagles dumped Iowa Lakes, 25-10, 25-11, 25-17, in a conference meet before a crowd that included about 50 young female athletes from Harding Middle School.

"We didn't know they were coming tonight, so it was good to see them all come in," said Kirkwood sophomore Madsy Richards, a Xavier grad. "That was pretty exciting."

A typical crowd for Kirkwood volleyball includes family, friends and Kirkwood student-athletes from other sports, but the Harding girls occupied a big chunk of the bleachers near mid-court, dressed in Harding green and cheering for the Eagles.

"Having little kids there makes the whole thing better," said Kirkwood soph Caiti Peterson, a Cedar Rapids Washington grad.

Kirkwood Coach Jill Williams enjoyed seeing the middle school athletes in the stands.

"It was fun. Heck, yes," she said. "If some girls want to watch volleyball we want them in the gym."

The Eagles got off to a fast start and were never seriously challenged, although Iowa Lakes (3-2) put up a mild fuss in the third set before the Eagles took control again.

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