Cowley volleyball goes 4-0 at KCK Tournament

Taking part in the Kansas City Kansas Volleyball Tournament on Friday and Saturday, the No. 3-ranked Cowley College volleyball team remained unbeaten on the season by going 4-0 at the tourney.

"We played some teams that pushed us a little bit," Cowley head coach Steven Gream said. "We executed well at key times."

On Friday, Cowley opened with a 25-11, 25-8, 25-7 win over Southeast Community College. The Lady Tigers would conclude play on Friday with a 26-24, 25-12, 25-13 win over Metropolitan Community College.

In the win over Metropolitan, sophomore Anna Kiss reached 100 service aces in her career. Along with Kiss' three aces, she finished with a match-high 22 kills. Freshman Laura Bonomi, who had a double-double in the win over Southeast CC, added another 13 kills and 11 digs in the win over Metropolitan.

Cowley returned to the court on Saturday to open against the Park University JV. After winning the opening set 25-14, the Lady Tigers suffered their first loss of a set this season in a 25-23 loss of the second set.

Cowley had won 46 sets in a row to open the season.

"The set we lost, we just made a few too many errors," Gream said.

Instead of hanging their heads, the Lady Tigers came back with a vengeance, winning the following two sets by scores of 25-11 and 25-15.

Kiss had 22 kills for a second straight match, while Bonomi added another double-double (18 kills, 20 digs). Sophomore setter Rossana Papa, who finished with 47 assists, went over the 2,000 mark in career assists earlier in the tournament. Papa is just the fifth person in Cowley history to surpass 2,000 career assists.

In its final match, Cowley breezed past St. Louis Community College 25-11, 25-9, 25-4 to improve its record to 17-0.  The Lady Tigers had nine players register a kill in the victory and were led by Bonomi's 11 kills.

"Laura puts a lot of pressure on teams and showed why she leads the nation in hitting percentage," Gream said.

Cowley will return home to face No. 18-ranked Neosho County (12-4). The Lady Panthers are tied with Johnson County for first place in the conference with a record of 5-0. The Lady Tigers are just behind, with a record of 4-0 in conference play.

"Neosho will battle. They have gained experience and been tested by playing some solid teams," Gream said. "We have got to be us, limit the unforced errors, and let the offense do its job. If we can do that, it will put a lot of pressure on Neosho."

The match on Wednesday is being billed as First Responder Night. All first responders and their family members will receive free admission to the game.

 Photo Credit: James Dill