Cowley volleyball eager to bounce back in Jayhawk Conference

Entering the program's 45^th season, high expectations are in store for the Cowley College volleyball program. The team is coming off of a 2020 campaign that that saw them finish 16-11 in the shortened Covid-19 season. Now, Cowley head coach Steven Gream will enter his sixth season, leading his Lady Tigers as they work to continue the success of the program.

"We had a challenging season in 2020, with us dealing with Covid-19 regulations, a shorter season, playing in the spring instead of the fall, and more," Gream stated. "The KJCCC had several teams, in the top 25 in the nation all season long. A national tournament champion and another strong showing with our two representatives at nationals. The conference is tough and that has made us stronger and will continue to do so as we prepare for the season, district playoffs, and beyond. We look forward to the new season."

Looking over the 2021 roster, fans will notice that there are some new names that will be counted on to produce for the Lady Tigers in the upcoming season. The Lady Tigers lost seven players from the 2020 season and are returning six players. The returning players will be looked upon to guide the new players as they transition into the Cowley volleyball program. The new players will be expected to help carry on the success and progress that the program has enjoyed in its 45-year history.

"We did lose some key contributors from last year," Gream said." But I really feel that we have the pieces in place, for a successful season, and great depth in place to have a lot of talent at every position. We expect this team, like the Cowley teams in the past, to practice hard, train hard, compete at a high level, and work to improve every day. We believe we have brought in a very talented freshmen class that is not only proficient in their volleyball skills, but has much experience. Players who were on championship teams and players who were on national teams. We feel that this freshmen class will help us to build on our success, continue to play at a high level, and compete well in both the KJCCC and NJCAA."

The sophomore class includes six players. Outside hitter, Iva Halacheva, returns to Cowley for a very rare third season (due to Covid-19 extra season rule) and after a very successful sophomore season that resulted in her receiving numerous honors in 2020. She received NJCAA DII First Team All-American honors, AVCA Second Team All-American honors, was named First Team All-District, KJCCC First Team All-Conference, AVCA Player of the Week, NJCAA Offensive Player of the Week, and KJCCC Offensive Player of the Week (four times). Halacheva played in 97 sets, where she totaled 503 kills at 5.19 kills per set while hitting .336. She also added 28 aces, 204 digs, and 49 blocks. Her 5.19 kills per set ranked first in the NJCAA and KJCCC plus is a Cowley single season record. Her 503 total kills ranked her first in the NJCAA and KJCCC. She recorded a Cowley single match record of 37 kills against Highland College in 2020. Currently, she has 978 career kills, which places her third all-time in Cowley history. Halacheva provides a consistent attacker that reads defenses well, provides a powerful punch with her strong and accurate serve, and has worked all off-season on her defense to make her an all-around player.

Middle hitter/opposite hitter, Katie Morrison, returns to Cowley for her second season. Morrison played in 36 sets, hitting a .275 hitting percentage, averaging 1.28 kills per set and averaging 0.67 blocks per set. She recorded a career high 10 blocks against Neosho County in 2020. Morrison provides to the program a solid middle hitter who can hit with power and speed and provide a solid block on the front row. Her ability to hit a variety of sets at both the middle and opposite positions brings another key weapon to the program.

Opposite hitter, Maddy Pitts, returns to Cowley for her second season. Pitts played in 87 sets, recorded 210 kills at 2.41 kills per set, hit a .271 hitting percentage, and averaged 0.49 blocks per set. She was named KJCCC All-Conference Honorable Mention and All-District Second Team. Pitts brings to the program a solid opposite hitter with the ability to provide a powerful attack and a solid block. A left-handed attacker that can run a variety of sets and gives the offense a different look against opponents.

Outside hitter/opposite hitter, Macy Shreffler, returns to Cowley for her second season. Shreffler played in 89 sets, recorded 259 kills at 2.91 kills per set, hit a .199 hitting percentage, and averaged 0.29 blocks per set. She also was named All-District Second Team. Shreffler brings to the program an athletic all-around player with the "wow factor" in her game. With the ability to sky with her exceptional vertical and pound with a "heavy ball" attack she is a major threat to any opposing team on offense.

Defensive specialist/libero, Dani Smith, returns to Cowley for her second season. Smith played in 93 sets, recorded 170 digs at 1.83 digs per set, 15 aces, and 42 assists. She brings to the program a strong defensive player who can play any back row position, reads the attack and the serve well and has the quickness to get to any ball.

Defensive specialist/libero, Erin Thompson, returns to Cowley for her second season. Thompson played in 97 sets, recorded 433 digs at 4.46 digs per set, 29 aces, and 45 assists. She was also named KJCCC Defensive Player of the Week in 2020. Thompson brings to the program a strong defensive player who is fearless against any attack and the ball control to shine on serve receive. Her quickness, ball control, and ability to read the attack, make her a valuable defensive player and will enhance the Cowley defense in 2021.

The freshmen class includes ten players. All are outstanding players who all come from outstanding championship programs and national team programs. They will only improve as they get accustomed to the college game.

Middle hitter, Gyongyver Araczki, brings to the program an aggressive all-around athletic middle hitter that can hit a variety of sets and angles plus she puts up a solid block. These abilities provide our offense with a versatile middle who can run a variety of options and a strong block to shut down opponents. She comes to Cowley from Bekescsaba, Hungary.

Another middle hitter, Bethania Barreto, brings to the program an all-around player who is gifted with great athleticism and excellent court vision. These qualities allow her to play strong at the net with her attacking and blocking abilities. She comes to Cowley from Uberaba, Brazil.

A third middle hitter, Landry Cate, brings to the program athleticism and timing that allows her to play strong at the net with her attacking and blocking abilities. She has great court awareness, court vision, has the ability to play both middle and outside positions, and has the great ability to play strong at the net on both offense and defense. She comes to Cowley from Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Setter, Tynisha Clitso, brings to the program strong setting technique, court awareness, discipline, quickness, consistency, and aggressiveness that we look for in a setter to run our offensive system. She comes to Cowley from Shonto, Arizona.

Opposite/outside hitter, Marcella Erichsen, brings to the program a solid hitter who hits a "heavy ball" on her attack, has the ability to read defenses, and hits a variety of sets with her experience hitting from multiple positions. She is a well-rounded athlete who brings an all-around game to the court. She comes to Cowley from Curitiba, Brazil

Defensive specialist/libero, Mary Insalaco, brings to the program a strong and intelligent DS/Libero with explosive quickness, exceptional ball control and a no fear attitude. She has the great ability to read the ball, confidence to take a hard shot from any hitter, and has the ball control to provide a quality pass on serve receive. She comes to Cowley from North Little Rock, Arkansas.

Setter, Rossana Papa, brings to the program athleticism, setting technique, consistency, aggressiveness, court awareness, and discipline. She has the ability to run a faster tempo offense and has the ability to place the ball to her hitters in and out of system at any time. These abilities will allow her to run the very fast paced offense that Cowley runs. She comes to Cowley from Brescia, Italy.

Opposite/outside hitter, Rachele Tessari, brings to the program an athletic and well-rounded hitter that provides a strong attack, a solid block, strong serve, a "libero like" defense, and the ability to play multiple positions. She is that five-tool player who can play at a high level and cause problems for our opponents. She comes to Cowley from San Bonifacio, Italy.

Outside hitter, Laci Beougher, brings to the program a solid hitter who provides a powerful attack with an assortment of sets and attack angles, provides a solid block on the front row and provides quality defense on the back row. She comes to Cowley from Benton, Kansas.

Defensive specialist/libero, Sydney Unruh, brings to the program strong and intelligent DS/Libero with much experience and exceptional ball control and a solid serve. She reads the ball very well to provide a quality pass on serve receive and defense, not afraid to take a hit from any hitter, and adjusts quickly on the court. She comes to Cowley from Great Bend, Kansas.

The Lady Tigers will play a total of 39 regular season matches. They open their season on August 20 in the Central Kick-off Classic in Columbus, Nebraska. Following the tournament, the team will begin conference play with various matches, tournaments, and tri-matches with non-conference programs throughout the season. Their first home match will be August 27 against Rose State.

Regarding the schedule, Gream had this to say: "With our season schedule, we always want to put together a schedule that has a nice balance of challenging teams to prepare us for KJCCC play but also allow us to prepare for a run at the NJCAA national tournament by playing nationally ranked opponents."

With the right balance of experienced returners and talented newcomers, the Lady Tigers look to pick up where they left off in 2020 and challenge in the very competitive Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference.