On Oct. 22, Kirkwood Community College’s volleyball team swept No. 3 Iowa Central Community College to clinch the Iowa Community College Athletic Association title, avenging last season’s loss to the Tritons.
The No. 1 Eagles left no doubt with their national ranking after triumphantly sweeping the impressive Tritons squad 26-24, 25-18 and 25-21.
Johnson Hall was packed with students, faculty, families and supporters from Iowa Central. Kirkwood fans were dressed in all black with the theme being black out.
After the first set deuce the fan presence was made clear.
“This was the coolest atmosphere to play in,” said Eagles head coach David Brown. “In my four seasons here, that was the best fan section I’ve ever had.”
The Eagles were down 23-24, but after a kill from sophomore outside hitter Carly Wazac and a block from freshman middle hitter Karley Belken, Kirkwood was one point away from taking the first set. Then freshman setter Katie Scheckel pulled through and delivered the set clinching kill.
Kirkwood carried this momentum into the second set and cruised to an easy 25-18 victory. As a team, Kirkwood had a .312 kill percentage in the second set.
The third-ranked Tritons were not going down without a fight, though.
After being down a handful of points early in the third set, Iowa Central came back and regained a short lead. From there, the two highly ranked teams exchanged points.
Then Brown put in freshman defensive specialist Grace Knock, who at that point in the match had yet to play. And right away, she made an impact on the court.
In a five-serve stretch, Knock provided two clutch service aces to give the Eagles a comfortable cushion.
“The entire game I was engaged, and I was ready if I had an opportunity that presented itself,” Knock said. “And luckily it did.”
After Kirkwood came within four points of sweeping the Tritons, the Iowa Central squad started eating at the lead again.
After a back-and-forth volley, Knock collected her second kill of the season. And not long after that momentum boost, Kirkwood finalized the set victory and match sweep.
Wazac led the Eagles with 14 kills. Scheckel compiled eight kills herself while also providing 22 assists. Sophomore libero Abbie Staats finished the match with an impressive 16 digs.
“It was a complete effort,” said Brown after the game. “It wasn’t just one person. It was the six starters, it was our bench, it was the coaching staff, it was our players, it was the fans.
“I attribute it not to just our team, but to everything. It was a complete Kirkwood win.”
The Eagles will begin their regional tournament starting on Oct. 31.
Categories: Sports, Volleyball
