Metro Sports Report

Armendano leads Mount Mercy volleyball

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Julian Armendano collected 13 kills Saturday  as the Mount Mercy men's volleyball team swept Robert Morris, 25-21,  25-18, 25-16, in the Chicago suburbs.

Ben Ruggles dished out 22 assists for the Mustangs.

Tiago Almeida made  eight digs. Ryan Tilkens blocked six shots.

Armendano powers Mustangs by No. 8 Stritch

MILWAUKEE - Julian Armendano collected 18 kills Friday as the Mount  Mercy men's volleyball team defeated eighth-ranked Cardinal Stritch of Wisconsin, 30-28, 19-25, 25-23, 25-19, at a tournament in Milwaukee.

Armendano also had 13 kills when the Mustangs topped the Milwaukee School of Engineering, 25-20, 21-25, 25-11, 27-25, in the event.

Ben Steffen had 11 kills in the victory over Cardinal Stritch. Ben Ruggles rolled up 43 assists. Armendano and Evan Gaskill made 11 digs. Steffen blocked eight shots and Strahil Svilenski swatted six for the  Mustangs (10-5).

Appel powers No. 11 Eagles with 38

IOWA FALLS - Luke Appel poured in 38 points and snared 13 rebounds  Wednesday night as the 11th-ranked Kirkwood Eagles topped Ellsworth,  84-71, in an ICCAC conference game in Iowa Falls.

The victory lifted Kirkwood into a two-way tie for the ICCAC lead with  DMACC at 10-2 with two games left in the conference race.

Appel made 14 of 22 shots from the field, including three 3-pointers.  He also collected four assists and two blocks.

Jamal Stephenson contributed 11 points for the Eagles (21-5). Seybian  Sims and Devonte Thedford netted 10 points apiece.

No. 2 KCC women punish Ellsworth

IOWA FALLS - Natalie Tomaszewski led a balanced attack with 17 points  Wednesday night as the second-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team  dumped Ellsworth, 95-38, in an ICCAC conference game in Iowa Falls.

The victory lifted Kirkwood to 12-1 in the conference heading into  Saturday's showdown at top-ranked NIACC (13-0) between the No. 1 and  No. 2 teams in the country. Only one of them will reach the national  tournament from the same regional.

Paige Bradford scored 16 points for the Eagles (25-2). Kemara Watson  contributed 15 points, Kortney Drake 13 and Ju Gaston 12.

Ellsworth has lost all 25 of its games this season and is 0-13 in the  conference.