Lady Tigers knock off Fort Scott, wrap up second place in the Jayhawk East

Playing its final regular season match Friday at Fort Scott Community College, the No. 3-ranked Cowley College volleyball team wrapped up second place in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division with a commanding 25-13, 25-23, 25-16 win over the Greyhounds.

The Lady Tigers (36-3), winners of seven matches in a row, finished one game behind No. 2-ranked Johnson County (9-0) in the conference. Fort Scott (6-22) finished the regular season in a tie for eighth in the Jayhawk East.

"Fort Scott is always tough at their place, and they pushed us, especially in the second set," Cowley head coach Steven Gream said. "We managed to balance the floor to create holes, starting with the strong play of our middles. Our strong serving attack allowed us to pull away and get open looks on easy balls back, which allowed us to make runs in each set. We didn't play as clean as we would have liked, but we managed to right the ship with our runs for the win."

Lady Tiger middle hitters Landry Cate (14 kills) and Gyongyver Araczki (11 kills) combined to hit over .600 on Friday.

"Both Gyongyver and Landry have played very well for the past few weeks," Gream said. "They help create our balanced attack and keep defenses in check for holes in their defense. Having two middles be able to hit like they are always breathes life into an offense to give the setter multiple options."

Speaking of, freshman setter Vivianna Solis (43 assists, 10 digs) and sophomore outside hitter Rachele Tessari (12 kills, 10 digs) added double-doubles in the victory.

"Vivianna and Rachele contributed greatly to our win over Fort Scott by serving our offense and defense well in key moments," Gream said. "Their double-doubles are nothing new to our program this year, as they each have multiple double-doubles on the season."

Cowley will face a stiff challenge when they open play in the district tournament by hosting No. 18-ranked Neosho County Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The Lady Tigers defeated Neosho in straight sets back on August 31. The Lady Panthers (24-9) finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Jayhawk East yet earned the seventh seed in the district tournament.

"Neosho has greatly improved since our first meeting, and we look for them to put up a real fight in this first round of the District Tournament," Gream said. "They have become nationally ranked and played some good competition to enhance their skills. We encourage all of our fans to come out and help push our team in what looks to be a great match."

The winner of Wednesday's match will advance to play Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Friends University in Wichita, KS.