Players, head coach saluted after winning year
The 2010 volleyball season was one to remember for the Kirkwood Community College Eagles, with five players earning Iowa Community College Area Conference (ICCAC) All-Conference and NJCAA All-Region XI-A honors. Head Coach Jill Williams also won honors of her own.
Sophomores Chanda Goedken, Ashley Goedken, Amber Pitz, Kaylee Schulte and Jordynn Brackey were named to the All-Region XI-A Team. Earning All-Conference honors were C. Goedken, A. Goedken, Pitz and Schulte.
As a freshman, Chanda Goedken (Farley, Iowa) was an NJCAA Second Team All-American, but closes her sophomore season an NJCAA First Team All-American. Adding to her accomplishments, Goedken earned Tournament MVP honors for her strong performance at the Region XI-A Tournament. For the second consecutive year, she received First Team All-Region and First Team All-Conference honors with more than 400 kills and digs each season. In her debut season, she was named ICCAC Athlete of the Week after recording 32 kills and 46 digs in a five match contest at the ICCAC Crossover Tournament.
Ashley Goedken (Dundee, Iowa) earned Second Team All-Region and Honorable Mention All-Conference Team honors last season, and stepped up even more as a sophomore, earning First Team All-Region and All-Conference honors. Goedken’s 39 assists in two games at the Region XI-A Tournament earned her a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Joining Goedken on the All-Tournament Team was freshman Morgan Guge (Hiawatha, IA) with 25 digs and 13 kills in two games.
Libero Amber Pitz (Farley) had 523 digs this season, earning her First Team All-Region and Second Team All-Conference accolades. In her final game as an Eagle, she had a season high 23 digs against Illinois Central College at the NJCAA National Tournament. Last season, Pitz was an ICCAC Athlete of the Week after averaging 15 digs per game in a week-long stretch.
Kaylee Schulte of Cedar Rapids led the Eagles in blocks for two seasons. Her 145 blocks and 270 kills earned her Second Team All-Region and Second Team All-Conference honors. Jordynn Brackey (Joice, Iowa) lands a spot on the All-Conference Second Team with a team high 41 aces in 2010.
Head Coach Jill Williams also received postseason honors as she was named Region XI-A Coach of the Year. Coach Williams completes her sixth season at Kirkwood with a 164-104 overall record and a 61-13 conference record.
This season marks the first trip to the NJCAA National Tournament for Williams, with five past regional runner-up finishes. Williams players have been recognized as Distinguished Academic All-Americans, Academic All-Americans, First and Second Team All-Region, First and Second Team All-Conference, Regional Tournament MVPs, and First and Second Team NJCAA All-Americans.
Kirkwood’s 2010 volleyball season closes with an eighth place finish at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament. The women posted an impressive 31-14 overall record with only one conference loss, to Iowa Lakes. The Eagles will resume play next August.