Cowley volleyball wins fourth straight district title, remains unbeaten
Facing the only team to win a set against them in the conference season, the top-seeded Cowley
College volleyball team defeated second-seeded Allen Community College 25-10, 25-14, 25-15 in the Plains District A Championship played on Saturday at Friends University in Wichita, KS.
This marks the fourth straight season that the Lady Tigers have won the district title and qualified to play at the NJCAA Division II National Volleyball Tournament on November 20-23 in Cedar Rapids, IA.
"I thought we did a good job of being us and staying in the present," Cowley head coach Steven Gream said. "The more pressure we put on Allen, the more errors they made. The goal was to make it back to the national tournament, and that has been the driving force for this team."
Cowley improves to 36-0 and has won 77 matches in a row dating back to last season. Allen finishes the season with a record of 26-9.
Sophomore Laura Bonomi moved within two kills of 1,000 in her career as she led Cowley with 17 kills and 10 digs. The double-double was the 21st of the season for Bonomi and 44th in her career.
Freshman Hanna Darvas added her 13th double-double by finishing with 42 assists and 13 digs.
Josci Buckley (15 kills) and Jessi Ritchhart (29 digs) also came up big in the win.
This will be Cowley's 16th trip to the national tournament. Only Parkland and Johnson County have more appearances at the NJCAA Division II National Championship.
The Lady Tigers will await to see who they will play in the first round of the national tournament as they get ready to begin defense of their title.
"We just need to play Cowley volleyball, bounce back from any mistakes we make, and worry about the next point," Gream said. "Having nine returning sophomores and the experience of being at the national tournament before should help us."