Cowley volleyball opens road trip with straight-set win

On the way to face three-ranked teams at the Lake-Sumter State College Invitational in Leesburg, FL, the No. 2-ranked Cowley College volleyball team made a stop Tuesday in Henderson, TN, to take on the Freed Hardeman University JV. The Lady Tigers improved its record to 3-0 on the season with a 25-19, 25-15, 25-7 win over the Lions.

Cowley started slowly as they trailed 4-1 and 6-4 in the opening set before scoring seven points in a row to grab an 11-6 advantage. The Lady Lions would pull within 20-18 before Cowley pulled away for the 25-19 win.

The Lady Tigers would go on to score the first four points of set two and led 18-6 before cruising to the 25-15 win. Cowley would then score the first 11 points of set three as they showed its dominance in the 25-7 victory.

"We took some time to get going in the first set but really took off in the second and third sets with a balanced attack, strong serve, and strong defense," Cowley head coach Steven Gream said.

Freshman outside hitter Anna Kiss led Cowley with 11 kills and three aces. Sophomores Laci Beougher and Landy Cate added nine and eight kills, respectively. While Rachele Tessari chipped in with six kills and six aces as the Lady Tigers finished with 13 aces in the match.

"We were able to balance the attack to where we could find holes in their defense, and that really kept the pressure on them in addition to our serve and defense," Gream said. "It was a good night to get some playing prep in before playing in the tournament in Florida."

Cowley will play a pair of matches Friday in Florida before wrapping up the tournament with two more matches on Saturday.