Eagles Start Conference Strong with Victory over Ellsworth
The Kirkwood Eagles and the Ellsworth Panthers met in Johnson Hall for a mid-week ICCAC battle, both teams looking to start conference play 1-0. Ellsworth entered the match-up tonight in Cedar Rapids with a lot of confidence largely in part due to their 8-0 record, winning 21 out of 22 sets played on the season. The Eagles had confidence as well. A postponement in their match last week against Black Hawk-Moline left the Eagles eager to return to play. Kirkwood entered the match tonight with a 4-1 record, having won 15 out of 17 sets, holding the #7 ranking in the NJCAA D2 Volleyball polls. Ultimately, Kirkwood's hot streak continued to burn strong, winning in 3 straight sets (25-9,25-21,25-9). They have now won 5 straight matches, sweeping each team in 3.
For the offensive attack, Kirkwood saw all hitters (OH, MB, and OPP) record a kill on the night that led to Sydney Matthias recording a season-high 32 assists. 3 Kirkwood players (Howard, Cross, and Tegeler) recorded double-figures in the kill column (10 each), with Alyssa Tegeler putting on an impressive display tonight. The Sophomore Middle Blocker recorded a 0.833 hitting percentage – her highest hitting percentage on 10 or more kills. Lueck would have another trio of aces. Howard, Grimm, and Tegeler added 2 aces a piece with the team recorded 11 aces on the night.
Kirkwood proved to be perilous against the Panthers tonight, improving their overall record to 5-1 and starting conference play at 1-0.
For Labor Day weekend, Kirkwood travels to Southeastern Community College in West Burlington, Iowa where they will participate in the SCC Jimmy John's Tournament. Friday, September 1st, the Eagles play Sauk Valley at 10:00 AM and again at 12:00 PM against Black Hawk-Moline. Saturday, September 2nd, the Eagles play East Central College at 2:00 PM and again at 4:00 PM against Spoon River College.