Volleyball caps first unbeaten regular season since 2012

The top-ranked Cowley College volleyball team will head into the postseason with an unbeaten record for the first time since the 2012 season after defeating a pair of NJCAA Division I schools Saturday in Cisco, TX.

The Lady Tigers opened play on Saturday with a 25-20, 25-23, 25-18 win over host Cisco College before knocking off 2019 national champion Navarro College 18-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-18.

"After traveling a long distance to play two quality opponents, it was good for us to have to battle hard and do the things needed to prepare us for the postseason," Cowley head coach Steven Gream said.

In the match against Cisco (18-18), Cowley was led by Iva Halacheva's 18 kills. Freshman Laci Beougher added 13 kills, while Rossana Papa finished with 35 assists.

The match vs. Navarro saw Cowley drop just its third set of the season as they lost the opening set 25-18. However, the Lady Tigers bounced back in a big way as they won the next three sets by scores of 25-21, 25-15, 25-18 to improve its record to 36-0 on the season.

"We went from the Cisco match immediately into the game against Navarro, so it took us a while to make adjustments," Gream said. "After the first set we didn't panic, we just cleaned up our side of the court."

Rachele Tessari had four of Cowley's 15 aces and also finished with 11 kills and 10 digs. 

"Rachele bounced back from the match against Cisco and really carried us against Navarro," Gream said. "Our serving caused them a lot of problems and our defense picked up as well."

Halacheva added 16 kills, while sophomore Erin Thompson had a team-high 12 digs for the second straight match. The loss drops Navarro's record to 17-11 on the season.

Cowley will now prepare to host Coffeyville (18-20) Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the First-Round of the Plains District Tournament.

"It is now a new season for us. We will look to continue doing what we have been doing and will not underestimate any opponent," Gream said. "We need to take it one match at a time and build on what we have done so far."