Second-ranked Lady Tigers remain unbeaten with wins at tri-match

Nothing seems to slow down the second-ranked Cowley College volleyball team. Two days after an exhilarating five-set win at sixth-ranked Johnson County, the Lady Tiger volleyball team defeated 15^th-ranked Central Community College-Columbus 25-17, 25-11, 25-13 and host Cloud County 25-12, 25-13, 25-16 Friday in a tri-match played in Concordia, KS.

"We played two teams that had been playing well going into Friday," Cowley head coach Steven Gream said. "We started a little slow against Central, but once we got rolling, we used our strong serve, quick offense, and strong defense to create pressure and make runs."

Anna Kiss led Cowley with 18 kills in the win over Central, while Sara Puskus added 14 kills and three service aces.

"Sara Puskas has really stepped up in helping us balance our attack and creating pressure on the team's defense," Gream said. "Her high hitting percentage and strong attack allow our other hitters more free looks to attack."

Puskus added 13 more kills and a .571 hitting percentage in the win over Cloud, while Kiss followed with another 17 kills.

"Anna Kiss had a great week coming off of a strong performance against Johnson County with 26 kills; she continued her strong play against Central and Cloud," Gream said. "Her strong serve also created issues for them and again allowed us to make runs."

Sophomore setter Rossana Papa combined for 76 assists and 14 digs in the two victories.

"Rossana Papa did an excellent job keeping Central and Clouds defenses guessing and slow to close on our attack," Gream said. "Like Anna, her strong serve placed a lot of pressure on Central and Cloud to allow our defense to set up against them and get easy points."

Cowley, 28-0 on the season, will put its unbeaten streak on the line in an important conference home match Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. against Kansas City Kansas Community College. The Blue Devils (19-9) are 6-2 in the Jayhawk Conference.

"KCK is a tough team that is playing good ball right now," Gream said. "They are well coached and are aggressive on offense. We will have to play our game and be prepared for a solid and aggressive push from them during the match."

Fans are asked to wear pink in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Photo Credit: James Dill