Lady Tiger volleyball team eager to continue success

Entering the program's 44^th season for the Cowley College volleyball program, high expectations are in store for the program. The team is coming off of a 2019 season that saw them finish with a record of 31-6 overall and a 7-3 record in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. The team also stayed in the top 10 in the NJCAA national rankings most of the season and rose as high as number four in the national rankings for a pair of weeks.

Now, Cowley head coach Steven Gream will enter his fifth season, leading his Lady Tigers as they work to continue the success of the program.

"We had an outstanding season in 2019, combined with a strong showing from our conference in the national rankings," Gream stated. "The KJCCC had six teams, including us, in the top 12 in the nation all season long. A national tournament third place finish and a sixth place finish with our two representatives. The conference is tough and that has made us strong and will continue to do so as we prepare for the national tournament. We look forward to the 2020 season."

Looking over the 2020 roster, fans will notice that there are some new names that will be counted on to produce for the Lady Tigers in the new season. The Lady Tigers lost eight players from the 2019 season and are returning five players. The returning players will be looked upon to guide the new players as they transition into the Cowley volleyball program. The new players will be expected to help carry on the success and progress that the program has enjoyed in its history.

"We did lose some key contributors from last year, Gream said." But I really feel that we have the pieces in place, for a successful season, and great depth in place to have a lot of talent at every position. We expect this team, like the Cowley teams in the past, to practice hard, train hard, compete at a high level, and work to improve every day."

The freshmen class includes eight players. All are outstanding players who come from championship programs and national teams. They will only improve as they get accustomed to the college game.

Outside hitter, Grace Bell, brings to the program an athletic outside hitter who has the ability to read defenses, hit a variety of shots, and hit with power. She comes to Cowley from the Arkansas Homeschool League. In her senior year, she led her team to the 18U 4A Gold Ball National Champions, Undisputed National Champion runner-up, Texas State runner-up, South Central Regional first place Gold, Kansas City first place Gold, Sheridan High School invitational first Gold, Little Rock Spikefest second in silver, Volley in the Valley first place silver. Her individual honors include her being named Offensive Player of the Year for the South Central Region, named All-State three times, and named MVP five times. In her senior season, she had 345 kills at 3.25 kills per set, hit a .282 hitting percentage, hit a .442 kill percentage, and added 59 aces. Middle Hitter/Opposite Hitter, Katie Morrison, brings to the program another solid middle hitter who can hit with power and speed and provide a solid block on the front row. Her ability to hit a variety of sets at both the middle and opposite positions brings another key weapon to the program. She comes to Cowley from Benton High School in Benton, Arkansas. She helped lead her team to league titles her junior and senior seasons and also, in her senior season, led her team to the Arkansas 5A State Tournament where her team finished in second place. During her career, she was named All-Conference and served as team captain for the program. Morrison started as a setter and when the need arose to change positions she embraced it and made the move to middle hitter.

Opposite hitter, Maddy Pitts, brings to the program a solid opposite hitter with the ability to provide a powerful attack and a solid block. A left-handed attacker that can run a variety of sets and gives the offense a different look will be invaluable during the season. She comes to Cowley from Goddard High School where she played four seasons of volleyball. She helped lead her team to two final four state tournament appearances. In her career, she was awarded Kansas All-State Honorable Mention, Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League's (AVCTL II) Honorable Mention, and was named Goddard's season MVP four times.

Outside hitter/opposite hitter, Macy Shreffler, brings to the program an athletic all-around player with the "wow factor" in her game. With the ability to sky with her exceptional vertical and pound with a "heavy ball" attack she is a major threat to any opposing team on offense. That combined with her ability to play outside and opposite positions and also play back row gives the program a major weapon and depth in 2020. She comes to Cowley from Douglas County High School in Castle Rock, Colorado.

Defensive Specialist/Libero, Dani Smith, brings to the program a strong defensive player who reads the attack and the serve well and quickness to get to any ball. She comes to Cowley from Dexter High School where she played three seasons of volleyball. Smith also improved her training while playing for One Volleyball Academy where she won numerous championships with the program. In 2019, she was invited to participate, along with players from all over the country, in the NoKaOi Volleyball tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her team won the championship without losing a match or set in the tournament.

Setter, Gracie Story, brings to the program an athletic setter who has excellent setting technique, court awareness, and discipline on the court. She comes to Cowley from Holliday High School in Holliday, Texas where she played for four seasons. In her career, she led her team to the playoffs all four of her years and reached the Regional Quarterfinals, won the District Championship, won the Bi-District Championships, and won the Area Championships in both her freshmen and junior years.  In her junior year she was named MVP server and in her senior year she was named All-State, First Team All-District, and TRN (regional area) volleyball player of the week. Her senior year, she totaled 204 kills, 630 assists, 548 digs, 65 blocks, and 47 aces.

Outside Hitter, Natalia Szymanska, brings to the program a strong outside presence with her all-around abilities with power on the attack, strong serve, excellent ball handling skills, and experience at the international level. She comes to Cowley from Liceum ogólnoksztalcace Mistrzostwa Sportowego in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, Poland. In playing volleyball, she began playing in 2012 for the MKS Gala Skarzysko city club and continued playing for the club until 2016. In 2016, she began playing for KSZO Ostrowiec which won championships in 2017,2018, and 2019. The 2018 and 2019 championships resulted in undefeated seasons. Szymanska also began attending the School of Sports Championships (SMS) in Ostrowiec, Swietokrzyski which was the top ranked high school volleyball in the Swietokrzyskie voivodeship. As a member of SMS Ostrowiec, her and her team served as the lone representative of Poland to play in the Volley Culture Paris International tournament in Paris, France. This tournament was comprised of teams from Spain, Lithuania, France, United Kingdom, and Slovenia. The team excelled in the tournament and finished in second place. In 2017 and 2018, her team was the women's volleyball Third League champion, which allowed them to compete for promotion to the Second League. They reached the finals but just fell short of reaching the Second League with a third-place finish in the tournament.

Defensive Specialist/Libero, Erin Thompson, brings to the program a strong defensive player who is fearless against any attack and the ball control to shine on serve receive. Her quickness, ball control, and ability to read the attack, make her a valuable defensive player and will enhance the Cowley defense in 2020. Erin comes to Cowley from Prepped at Bryant High School where she played three seasons of volleyball. Thompson improved her training by being invited to train in the USA Volleyball High Performance A3 Training Program in 2017 and 2019. Also, in 2019, she enhanced her training at the USA Volleyball Delta Region High Performance Training Camp where she was honored as Best Defensive Player among many talent athletes

"We believe we have brought in a very talented freshmen class that is not only proficient in their volleyball skills, but has much experience," Gream said. "Players who were on championship teams and players who were on national teams. We feel that this freshmen class will help us to build on our success, continue to play at a high level, and compete for a national championship."

The sophomore class includes five players. Defensive specialist/libero Juju Eaton returns for her second year at Cowley after having an impressive freshmen season. She came to Cowley to provide a defensive presence to the program and she did just that. Eaton started her career with 128 sets played and was a key contributor to Cowley's ability to play excellent defense and strong serve receive. She corralled 1.58 digs per set, from the middle back position, totaled three double figure dig performances, a 2.00 passer rating and recorded a season high 13 digs in 2019 against Lincoln Land.

"Juju is a very talented player who plays smooth and works hard each day to improve from the day before," Gream said. "She came to Cowley, a team she rooted for her whole life, and overcame the pressure of playing for that team... becoming a quality player for the program. She has court awareness, speed, ball control, and defensive skills that provides the team with a strong back row. We look for her to be even stronger in 2020."

Outside hitter/opposite hitter, Iva Halacheva, returns to Cowley after a very successful freshmen season that resulted in her receiving NJCAA DII First Team All-American honors in 2019. She played in 109 sets until her season was cut short due to an ankle injury. In those 109 sets, she totaled 475 kills at 4.36 kills per set while hitting .350. She also added 46 aces, 99 digs, and 26 blocks. Her 4.36 kills per set ranked her seventh in the NJCAA and second in the KJCCC. Her 475 total kills ranked her 15th in the NJCAA and third in the KJCCC. Her .350 hitting percentage ranked 19th in the NJCAA and third in the KJCCC. She recorded a season high 30 kills against Ranger College in 2019.

"Iva is a very explosive hitter who was a key part of our offense in 2019," Gream said. "She is very balanced in her ability to hit a variety of shots while also hitting at a high percentage which is combined with a dangerous serve. Her improved defense and passing skills will be called on during the season. We anticipate her to have an even better 2020."

Outside hitter, Caitie Lockett, returns to Cowley for her second season. Lockett played in 32 sets, averaging 0.91 kills per set, 0.41 digs per set, and 0.38 blocks per set. She provides a well-rounded outside hitter who provides a strong attack, a solid block, and the ability to play multiple positions. These abilities provide the program with a solid player that gives the program many options in each match. She recorded a career high six kills against Highland and Labette and a career high six blocks against Highland in 2019.

"Caitie is an outside hitter that has experience running a variety of sets," Gream said. "These skills came in handy for our program last year when she had to step in against some quality opponents. She also provides a strong block and has continued to improve her offensive skills. We look for her to show that hard work in the 2020 season."

Middle hitter/opposite hitter, Keely Solida, returns to Cowley for her second season. Solida played in 16 sets, hitting a .231 hitting percentage and averaging 0.19 blocks per set. She provides a big presence on the front row with her block and strong attack. These skills will be called upon to help solidify the middle and opposite positions.

"Keely has worked hard in the off-season to make her attack more consistent at both the middle and opposite positions and she has also enhanced her blocking skills to be able to use her 6'3" frame to cause opponents major headaches on their attack," Gream said. "We look forward to seeing her hard work pay off in 2020."

Another middle hitter, Cora Vineyard, returns to Cowley for her second season. Vineyard played in 32 sets, averaged 1.16 kills per set, hit a .228 hitting percentage, averaged 0.22 blocks per set, and 1.4 points per set. She provides an all-around athletic middle hitter that can hit a variety of sets and put up a solid block.

"These abilities provide our offense with a versatile middle who can run a variety of options and a strong block to shut down opponents," Gream said. "Cora put in a ton of work in the off-season to enhance her volleyball skills. She is so athletic and being able to apply those enhanced skills is going to take her to another level of play. We are excited to see that hard work and dedication pay off in 2020."

The Lady Tigers will play a total of 30 regular season matches. They open their season on January 23 in the Seminole Tri-match. Following the tri-match, the team will begin conference play with various tri-matches with non-conference programs throughout the season. Regarding the schedule, Gream had this to say: "With our season schedule, we always want to put together a schedule that has a nice balance of challenging teams to prepare us for KJCCC play but also allow us to prepare for a run at the NJCAA national tournament by playing nationally ranked opponents. However, it will look a little different this year with the Covid regulations where we have 21 dates and our conference will be playing home and away. We have mixed in some non-conference opponents to go along with the very tough KJCCC conference play to provide us a nice balance in our schedule."

With the right balance of experienced returners and talented newcomers, the Lady Tigers look to pick up where they left off in 2019 and compete in the very competitive Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference.