Kirkwood claws back to reach NJCAA volleyball quarterfinals

CEDAR RAPIDS — “A win is a win,” said Jill Williams, Kirkwood’s head coach, to her Eagles as they left the floor with an emotionally-charged 25-17, 16-25, 16-25, 25-23, 15-11 victory over ninth-seeded McHenry County College (Ill.) in the round of 16 of the NJCAA volleyball tournament Thursday at Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

“I just told them that this is the biggest hurdle of the tournament,” Williams said. “To be in the top eight, you have to win your first match. It was a roller coaster of emotions and things got tight, but by the fifth (set), we regrouped.”

Kirkwood came into the field of 16 having already faced nine of its 15 possible opponents, including a split with McHenry County in September.

“These great moments lead to wonderful opportunities,” said Williams, basically to her sophomore hitter, Emily Strauss, as she waited to speak with the media. “We just know that we’ve been given one more shot at all of these teams. Why not us?”

Strauss and her teammates agree the opportunity for great success is right in front of the Eagles.

“That just proved that we can do anything and beat any team (in this tournament),” Strauss said. “Before we came (to the Alliant Energy PowerHouse), we watched ‘Miracle.’ We know that even if we’d lose nine times out of 10, we just need that one time.”

A Linn-Mar graduate, Strauss found Kirkwood to be a perfect fit for her first two years of college on and off the court.

“I love that it’s close to home and I could study nursing,” said Strauss, who has since changed her major to Liberal Arts and wants to focus on Health Sciences at a four-year school in the future.

“I’m keeping my options open and seeing what comes after this tournament,” Strauss said.

The Eagles’ dramatic victory earned them a quarterfinal matchup with No. 1 seed Cowley College of Arkansas City, Kan., Thursday night. Cowley swept Kirkwood to advance to Friday’s semifinals.

The Eagles move to the consolation bracket to determine fifth through eighth place in the tournament.

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