Eagles earn spot in regional finals
Sunday, 28 October 2018 05:01 Metro Sports Report Kirkwood
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.
Alexa Aldrich-Ingram led the Eagles with 18 kills. Abbi Tunis had 12 kills and Sami Johnson had 11.
Lauren Keane dished out 40 assists for Kirkwood. Maddie Lavenz had 27 digs, Aldrich-Ingram 17, Johnson 13 and Keane 11. Tunis and Taylor Carey blocked eight shots.
Kirkwood was trimmed by Iowa Central, 3-2, in a conference match in Fort Dodge on Oct. 10, with Iowa Central winning the fifth set 19-17 in overtime. Iowa Central is the No. 1 seed in the regional tournament.