The Eagles exceeded their coach's expectations and finished 16-6 overall and 7-4 in the MOCAL.

It is the most wins the program has earned since Kirk took over three years ago.

"It was a very positive season," Kirk said. "It went beyond what I really thought it would be. We did a lot better than I thought we would."

Gahanna Christian also earned its first win under Kirk in the Division IV district tournament, as it defeated sixth-seeded Harvest Prep 18-24, 25-16, 25-22, 19-25, 15-6 on Oct. 22.

The fifth-seeded Eagles then fell to seventh-seeded Shekinah Christian 25-23, 25-20, 25-17 on Oct. 24.

"We did not play very well that night," Kirk said. "I guess coming off the good win against Harvest Prep, we didn't do as well."

Shekinah Christian lost to Gilead Christian 25-7, 25-13, 25-13 in a semifinal Oct. 29.

The Eagles finished second behind Madison Christian (11-1) in the conference.

Senior Alissa Kirk, the coach's daughter, was first-team all-MOCAL and first-team all-district. An outside hitter, she had a team-high 269 kills, 296 digs and 76 aces.

"I'm going to miss my friends, working together and staying after school," Alissa Kirk said. "We were a group of girls who loved to play volleyball together."

Senior middle hitter Deb Tadesse was second-team all-MOCAL and second-team all-district. She had 106 kills and 172 digs.

Sophomore setter Sara Kirk, also the coach's daughter, was honorable mention in the league and the district. She totaled 257 assists, 75 kills and 62 aces.

Freshman setter Christina Grubich was honorable mention all-MOCAL. She had 246 assists, 111 digs, 78 kills and 56 aces.

Senior Ashley Garrett also capped her volleyball career at Gahanna Christian.

"It's always hard to say goodbye to seniors," coach Kirk said. "Every team has that issue. Of course, one of them is my daughter."

Expected to return next season are juniors Danielle Huddleston and Tori Williams, sophomore Lauren Deal and freshmen Ari Clayton and Hope Leimbach.

After losing to Madison Christian 25-19, 25-14, 25-14 on Sept. 8, the Eagles went on an eight-match winning streak.

"They improved a lot as we went on," coach Kirk said. "They really got into a good rhythm during the middle of the season and we didn't lose many at all."

The Eagles' conference wins came against Grove City Christian 25-21, 25-9, 25-17 on Sept. 15 and 25-4, 26-24, 25-10 on Sept. 29, Delaware Christian 25-21, 25-16, 25-16 on Sept. 17, Fairfield Christian 25-18, 25-20, 18-25, 25-16 on Sept. 22 and 25-21, 18-25, 25-20, 25-12 on Oct. 15, Tree of Life 25-21, 25-20, 25-17 on Sept. 24 and Northside Christian 25-19, 25-12, 25-23 on Oct. 6.

"This was a great year," coach Kirk said. "We didn't have a single complaint from parents and the girls remained excited the entire season. Even the kids on the j.v. team were doing their very best to work up so they could be on varsity. We had some good, hard-working girls this year."