Eagles Wrap up Season at Nationals

Cedar Rapids, IA- The #4 Kirkwood Eagles earned an at-large bid into the national tournament this year where they garnered the #7 seed overall. In the first round of the tournament, the Eagles were matched up with the Heartland Hawks. They had previously bested the Hawks in the previous two meetings and the third was no different. Kirkwood put on one of its most complete performances of the year against Heartland to become one of eight teams still vying for a national championship. Double-digit kills were provided by Emma Cross, Lexi Hearn, and Alyssa Tegeler in the match. Both Lily VanSeveren and Maggie Lueck had double-digit digs, with 17 and 10, respectively. 

Kirkwood then had to play the #2 overall seed, Scottsdale, in the next round. After starting down 7-0 in the first set, Kirkwood found a way to battle back and take the first set from the Artichokes. They had set point in the third set at 24-22, but couldn't find a way to hold on and lost the set 26-24. The Eagles would eventually drop the match 3-1. 

Kirkwood finished tied for the ICCAC regular season title while also becoming the first volleyball at-large bid nomination in school history. They finished with 11 wins against top 20 opponents and 6 against top 10 opponents.