New Identity
After a season where Kirkwood’s volleyball team finished fifth in the NJCAA DII National Tournament with a 37-3 record and two-time First-Team All-American setter Kaci Johnson went on to play Division-I volleyball at Lindenwood University, the Eagles found themselves with a new identity coming into the 2026 season.
Along with Johnson, many other key contributors graduated from Kirkwood. Notably, outside hitter Marrissa Cahoy will be playing Division-II volleyball at Upper Iowa University, while middle hitter Emily Naughton will continue her career at Division-III Wartburg College.
“The freshmen from last year are doing a good job stepping up and trying to fill those roles,” said volleyball head coach Dave Brown. “You’re never going to fill the exact role of the (sophomores from last season). You’re not going to fill those holes, those holes are just there. But they’re doing a good job at making their own identity.”
Returning Players
Of the returning players, outside hitter Carly Wazac is looking to build on her Second-Team All-American campaign after leading the Eagles with 364 kills (2.74 K/S). Outside hitters Sydney Brandmeyer and Yasmine Sell are also coming off impressive freshman seasons (2.55 K/S and 1.82 K/S, respectively).
Setter Avery Knoop is returning after a stellar freshman season where she led the Eagles with 763 assists (5.49 A/S). Middle hitter Madalyn Boyer also returns after leading the team with 118 blocks (1.06 B/S).
Defensive specialists Abbie Staats and Gabbi Smith are both looking to expand on their freshman seasons. Staats averaged 2.14 D/S while Smith averaged 2.08 D/S.
Brown commented that each returning player has impressed with their leadership skills and have each carried the culture over from the program’s prior teams.
With key contributors returning from the 2025 National Tournament team, the Eagles have a strong foundation in place. Wazac, Brandmeyer and Knoop provide a strong offensive core, while Boyer, Staats and Smith anchor the defense. Now, the incoming freshmen will look to fill in wherever needed.
New Faces
For the 2026 season there will be eight new freshmen making their Eagles debut this week. Seven of the eight come from Eastern Iowa.
The Eagles will be welcoming two Iowa High School All-Staters in setter Katie Scheckel and middle hitter Karley Belken.
Scheckel, a graduate of Pella High School, was a first-team All-Stater and the 4A Player of the Year. Brown called her the “swiss army knife” of the volleyball team and praised the power behind her swing. Scheckel averaged 3.9 kills per set and 3.2 digs per set. Belken, who recently graduated from Wahlert Catholic High School (Dubuque), earned fourth-team All-State honors after averaging 3.4 kills per set her senior year.
A pair of defensive specialists in Avery Knock and Ainsley Haedt will also be joining the Eagles. Knock, coming from Cedar Rapids Prairie High School, had 4.7 digs per set, earning her first-team All-Conference honors. Haedt, who graduated from North Scott High School, led her State Championship team with 3.1 digs per set.
Bri Clark and Jillian Hammond are both joining as outside hitters. Clark, hailing from DeWitt High School, earned first-team All-Conference honors after averaging 3.8 kills per set. Hammond, who graduated from Norwalk High School, finished her senior year with 137 kills.
Rounding out the squad are middle hitters Jozie Lahr and Sariah Sherman. Lahr, coming from Solon High School, was named the 4A defensive player of the year after averaging 1.1 blocks per set. Sherman, who graduated from Clear Creek Amana High School, finished the season with 145 kills, helping her team to finish first place in the regular season.
“You can win a National Championship with Iowa Kids,” said Brown when reflecting on his current freshman class. “I think we’re proving it and I hope we can continue to prove it.”
Schedule
Kirkwood’s volleyball team faces one of the more difficult schedules in the country. They will be playing seven top 10 teams and 12 top 25 teams in NJCAA DII rankings. The only ranked teams in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) are Iowa Central Community College and Des Moines Area Community College, meaning the other 10 schools are non-conference matchups.
“I will always schedule extremely tough non-conference schedules,” said Brown. “Just in case that we need it at the end of the year … we have a résumé to go off of.”
Three of the first four games will be against ranked opponents. Of those they’ll face Gulf Coast State College (third ranked team), Pensacola State College (eighth ranked team) and St. Johns River State College (11th ranked team). They will also be playing unranked Montgomery College.
“That’s the beautiful thing about Junior College volleyball,” Brown said when asked about what he is looking for to start the season against tough competition. “You don’t really know what you’re going to get because everyone’s teams are usually half new. We’re gonna figure out who we are rather quickly … it’s always going to come down to serve and pass for us.”
2026 Goal
In Brown’s first three seasons as a head coach, each team has lost in the quarterfinals at the National Tournament. This year, he wants to break that streak.
“I think this team can do it,” explained Brown. “Are we gonna peak at the right time? August is great, September is great but who are you in October and November?”
With a strong group of returning contributors from last season’s National Tournament team and eight exciting newcomers, the Eagles are looking to help Brown break his streak of quarterfinal losses.
“We have the idea of neutral thinking on our team. Where nothing in the past dictates the present. It’s just about the next right choice. So that’s what we’re always trying to focus on, the next right choice,” concluded Brown.
The Eagles’ season starts Thursday, August 20 as they look to go on a National Championship run.
Categories: Sports, Volleyball
