Cowley volleyball runs win streak to 12 with pair of non-conference victories

Venturing out of conference to play host to the Cowley Triangular Saturday in Arkansas City, the No. 1-ranked Cowley College volleyball team ran its win streak to 12 in a row with three-set victories over junior varsity squads from Oklahoma Baptist University and Friends University.

Cowley opened with a 25-17, 25-20, 26-24 win over the Oklahoma Baptist University JV and then defeated the Friends University JV 25-14, 25-20, 25-11. With the wins, Cowley is now 28-2 on the season and has won 32 home matches in a row.

"Any time we step on the court we want to improve what we can control and not worry about the other side of the net, and I think we did that Saturday," Cowley head coach Jenifer Bahner said.

In the win over OBU, Martyna Gluchowicz finished with a match-high 13 kills, while Goda Jankauskaite added eight kills and three blocks.

After missing the previous two weeks with a shoulder injury, freshman outside hitter Georgina Perez returned to the lineup with a team-high 10 kills in the win over Friends.

"Georgina is such a hard worker and wants to be a player on this team that her coaches and teammates can look to," Bahner said. "It was nice to see her have such a good performance."

Freshmen Sabetha Young and Cathy Hafenstine added seven kills apiece and combined for only one hitting error. Hafenstine also played well in the match vs. OBU as she led the team with four blocks.

With setter Molley Scanlon battling illness, Emily Barto stepped into the setting role the final two games against Friends and finished with 20 assists.

"Emily did a good job setting for us and running our offense," Bahner said.

Bahner was also pleased with the play of Young, who has been playing despite a knee injury.

"She played very well in the front and back row," Bahner said. "It is nice to know we can count on her to make plays for us."

The Lady Tigers (7-0 in the Jayhawk East) are currently tied with Johnson County for first place in the Jayhawk East and will face an important conference match at third place Highland (6-2 in the Jayhawk East) Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

"Highland is known to have a lot of energy and excitement, so it will be a tough match," Bahner said. "If we stick to our system we can have a good outcome there."

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