#7 Kirkwood Goes 3-1 at Kirkwood Invitational
Cedar Rapids, IA- The #7 Kirkwood Volleyball Team hosted its annual Kirkwood Invitational this past weekend. The tournament featured #2 Johnson County, #3 Parkland, #4 Heartland, #7 Kirkwood, #14 Sauk Valley, #19 DMACC, #19 Missouri State West Plains (DI JUCO), and Lincoln Land. This tournament is a good way to see where you stand with some of the best teams in the country.
The Eagles were coming off their first conference win on Wednesday against Northeast and began their weekend being tested by DI JUCO #19 Missouri State West Plains. The first set was electric between the two teams, with scrappy plays being made on defense by both teams. The Eagles would narrowly edge the Grizzles in the first set by a score of 26-24. The next two sets were all Missouri State, however, and the Grizzlies won the next two -18 and -16. In the 4th set, Kirkwood would bounce back and win another close one by a score of 25-23. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they couldn't carry that momentum into the fifth and would drop their second match of the year. Kaci Johnson would put up her 3rd triple-double of the year against the Grizzlies, notching 14 kills, 24 assists, and 11 digs. Josie Bryan and Ava Harris-Shephard would both have double digit kills as well, each with 10. Maggie Lueck, Lily VanSeveren, and Johnson were all in double figures for digs, with VanSeveren leading the way with 23 in the five set match.
Kirkwood wouldn't have to wait long to bounce back. They played #14 Sauk Valley right after this tight match. In the opening set, Sauk Valley came out and took the game to Kirkwood; they would win by a score of 25-22. The Eagles would shore up their serve recieve and serving and take the next three sets -17, -19, -16. Maggie Lueck and Lily VanSeveren would pace the Eagles in aces with 4 and 3, respectively. Natalee Hartman, Kaci Johnson, and Lily VanSeveren would each have double digit digs, with VanSeveren leading the way again with 19. Sophomore setter Sydney Matthias would dish out 22 assists in the match while sophomores Emma Meester and Ava Harris-Shephard added 9 and 8 kills respectively.
The last two matches pitted the Eagles against Illinois foes, Lincoln Land and Heartland. Kirkwood would kick things off on Saturday against Lincoln Land with a clean 3-0 sweep. In the sweep, freshman Josie Bryan would tally 11 kills on 20 attempts, hitting .400. Freshman Marissa Cahoy would add 8 kills of her own on 19 attempts, hitting .316. Not to be outdone, sophomore Emma Meester would have 9 kills of her own on 14 attemps, hitting a team best .500. Kirkwood would end the weekend with a big 3-1 win over #4 Heartland. In the win, Kaci Johnson put up another triple-double with 13 kills, 19 assists, and 10 digs. Josie Bryan would have a team-high 19 kills on 43 swings and Cahoy would add 11 kills of her own on 31 total attmepts. Sydney Matthias would chip in another 22 assists and Lily VanSeveren would continue her stellur sohomore campaign with 29 more digs.
The Eagles have Ellsworth on the road this Wednesday with a game time of 7PM.
