Posted: Nov 03, 2019

Eagles whip No. 1 seed for regional title

Monday, 04 November 2019 06:20 Metro Sports Report MSR - About MSR

FORT DODGE - The Kirkwood women's volleyball team knocked off the No. 1 seed on its own court Sunday to claim the Region XI-A championship.

The 19th-ranked Eagles upended eighth-ranked Iowa Central, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 26-24, in the regional finals in Fort Dodge with a clutch performance.

Kirkwood (25-14) will face Metropolitan Community College (13-23) in a district tournament in Kansas City Saturday, with the winner advancing to the NJCAA Division II national tournament in Charleston, W.Va., Nov. 21-23.

Kirkwood handed Iowa Central its only loss in the ICCAC conference this season, but the Eagles were seeded No. 4 and Iowa Central was seeded No. 1 for the regional based on the league standings.

Anna Gorsich rolled up 17 kills and 19 digs in the regional finals and was named the MVP of the tournament. Maranda Wheelock, who had 22 digs, and Abbie Ericson, who had eight kills and five blocks in the finals, also made the all-tournament team for Kirkwood.

Aubrin Dittmer contributed 15 kills and seven digs for Kirkwood Sunday. Taylor Carey had eight kills and five blocks. Maggie Peters finished with six kills and four blocks. Olivia Richards had 13 digs.

Kirkwood swept Metropolitan, 25-22, 25-23, 26-24, in their only meeting this season at the DMACC tournament in Boone Oct. 4.