Halacheva named NJCAA Division II All-American

Cowley College volleyball's Iva Halacheva has been named a First Team All-American by the NJCAA. The selection brings Cowley's total All-American award count to 37 honors spread across 28 players. It marks the 17th straight season with an All-American selection.

"We are very proud of Iva on being honored with the First Team All-American award." Cowley head coach Steven Gream said. "She put in the work in the off-season and during the season to improve each day. In receiving this honor, Iva would be the first to say she could not have earned this honor without her teammates. Being named NJCCC All-American is tough, but earning it coming out of the KJCCC, with all the outstanding players that it has, is an even bigger honor."

The sophomore outside hitter from Plovdiv, Bulgaria, led the NJCAA with 503 total kills, an average of 5.19 kills per set, total attacks at 1,076, total points with 558, and points per set at 5.80. She also ranked 23^rd in the NJCAA in hitting percentage at .336. She finished last season with 503 kills at 5.19 kills per set, a .336 hitting percentage, 204 digs at 2.10 digs per set, 28 service aces at 0.29 aces per set, and 49 blocks at 0.51 blocks per set. She led the region in kills, kills per set, points, points per set, total attacks, and finished seventh in hitting percentage. Halacheva's 503 kills in 2020-21 placed her sixth in Cowley history in kills in a season and, combined with her 475 kills from her freshmen season, rank her third in Cowley history in kills in a career at 978.

Halacheva was an AVCA Two Year College Player of the Week, NJCAA Offensive Player of the Week, and a four-time KJCCC Offensive Player of the Week. Three weeks ago, Halacheva was named NJCAA Great Plains District B First Team All-District and KJCCC First Team All-Conference for the second straight season. 

"Iva was an outside hitter that came in with a great amount of talent and worked to be an offensive leader of our program her freshmen season," Gream said. She didn't settle on her successful freshmen season nor did she let the pandemic slow her down in enhancing her volleyball skills and her physical training. Iva served as a leader on the court and was a determined player who brought power, consistency, and also added back row play in becoming a six-rotation player. She was already one of the top hitters in the nation but these adjustments and additions made her one of the top players in the nation on one of the top offenses in the nation."

Six Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference athletes were selected All-American — Mikayla Powell of Johnson County, Gracie LaForge of Johnson County, Juliana Squire of Fort Scott and Nicole Franco of Highland, and Cassidy Crist of Kansas City Kansas.