Volleyball reflects on national runner-up finish

The Cowley College volleyball team had high hopes for the 2021 campaign after a tough 2020 shortened Covid season. The program was returning several prominent players and bringing in key freshmen for a competitive season in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC). In the 2021 campaign, the team posted their 42^nd twenty plus win season and their 21^st straight winning season, continuing their streak of successful seasons. The Lady Tigers finished the season 41-1 while going 10-0 in conference matches. The team also finished NJCAA National Championship Runner-up, won the Plains A District Championship, won the KJCCC DII Conference Championship, posted a 41 match winning streak, was No. 1 nationally ranked, and received a No. 1 seed in the NJCAA National Tournament.

The KJCCC has always been one of the toughest conferences in the NJCAA. 2021 was no different with five teams being ranked in the top 20 in the national polls and having two ranked in the top five all season. This created a strong race for the top spots for a national tournament run.

The season started at the Central Community College Kickoff Classic with four 3-0 sweeps over Iowa Lakes, College of St. Mary JV, Southwestern, and Dakota College at Bottineau. From there, Cowley defeated conference foe Johnson County 3-0 on the road. Johnson County, at the time, was ranked No. 1 and the defending national champion. The team then added three more wins (and 3-0 sweeps) over Rose State, Lamar, and Friends University JV to finish out August. September started with another important match against then ranked No. 9 Neosho County, who had eliminated Cowley from the District tournament in 2020. Cowley defeated Neosho County 3-0 and began a busy September with 14 matches that included the KCK Tournament and the Cowley Invitational tournament. Going into the Cowley Invitational, Cowley had a streak of 20 straight matches of 3-0 sweeps. However, on the second day of the tournament, the Lady Tigers ran into NJCAA DI foe Cisco College who played the team tough and took the first set of the match. Cowley bounced back and won the next three sets for the win. Four Cowley players were named to the All-Tournament team – Iva Halacheva, Rossana Papa, Laci Beougher, and Gyongyver Araczki.

With the sweep streak ended, the team focused on their October schedule. October would be a tough month for the program with numerous ranked teams, strong conference opponents, strong NJCAA DI opponents, and the challenging Triton Invitational Tournament. By October, the Lady Tigers had moved up in ranks to second in the nation and was setting things up for a No. 1 vs No. 2 showdown with No. 1 ranked Iowa Central at the Triton Invitational tournament. In the tournament, Cowley met up against No. 15 Des Moines Area (DMACC), No. 11 Kirkwood, North Iowa Area, and then the host No. 1-ranked Iowa Central. Against No.15 DMACC, DMACC took only the second set of the season off the Lady Tigers but Cowley took the set 3-1. Next was a 3-0 sweep over No. 11 Kirkwood, then the next day defeated North Iowa Area 3-0 to set up the match against top-ranked Iowa Central. Going into the match, both teams were undefeated and were primed for a great match. Cowley utilized their strong serve, fast offense, and scrappy defense to create pressure and runs for the Lady Tigers as they defeated Iowa Central 25-22, 25-16, 25-23. Three players were named All-Tournament as well as were awarded honors of the tournament. Iva Halacheva was named MVP of the tournament, Rossana Papa was named Best Setter of the tournament, and Erin Thompson was named Best Libero of the tournament.

Now ranked No. 1, Cowley looked to finish the season strong with key KJCCC opponents and strong non-conference opponents left on the schedule. The Lady Tigers added sweeps over Coffeyville, Northeastern Oklahoma A & M, and Ottawa University JV to set up another important match up, this time, for the KJCCC regular season championship. This match-up was against No. 9 Highland who, like Cowley, was 9-0 in KJCCC conference play. The winner of the match would win the championship. Like with Iowa Central, the Lady Tigers answered the challenge and defeated No. 9 Highland 3-0 on their home court to win the first conference championship for the program since 2016 and earned a one-seed in the Plains A District tournament.

Before post season play, Cowley had two more matches to prepare for the tournament. The Lady Tigers traveled to Cisco Texas to take on NJCAA DI programs Cisco College and Navarro College. Navarro had won the NJCAA DI national championship in 2019. Cowley defeated Cisco 3-0 but ran into a tough Navarro College losing just their third set of the season, in losing the first set, then going on to win the match 3-1.

The stage was now set for the Plains A District tournament with Cowley hosting the first round. Cowley would sweep through Coffeyville and Kansas City to win the District championship for the first time since 2017.

Upon winning the District Championship, the Lady Tigers qualified for the NJCAA national tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and were given a one-seed for the tournament. The team was sent off by the Cowley community and traveled to Iowa Western to practice, then on to Grand View University to practice, before arriving in Cedar Rapids. Once at Cedar Rapids, the team practiced on the playing court and attended the opening ceremony banquet where the team was recognized and head coach Steven Gream was awarded Plains A District Coach of the Year. Following the banquet, the players were treated to videos of encouragement and advice from former Lady Tigers who had played and won in the national tournament. They were also surprised by a special message from USA Volleyball team captain Jordan Larson who also offered encouragement and advice before they started the tournament.

The first round of the NJCAA national tournament put the No. 1 seeded Cowley against No. 16 seed Montgomery College. The Lady Tigers used an aggressive serve and a balanced attack to take the 3-0 win. Later that night, Cowley would take on No. 8 seed Kirkwood. Cowley had defeated Kirkwood 3-0 earlier in the season and looked to repeat the same result. Once again, Cowley used their strong serve, balanced attack, and strong defense to cause problems for Kirkwood and win the match 3-0.

Day two of the tournament, placed Cowley in the semi-finals against KJCCC conference foe No. 4 seeded Johnson County. Cowley defeated Johnson County earlier in the season 3-0 but the Cavaliers had improved since the first meeting and were playing very well late in the season. The Lady Tigers dominated Johnson County from the opening set and won 25-15, 25-23, 25-21 as they punched their ticket to the national championship match.

Day three of the tournament, was for the national championship. The championship match pitted No 1 seeded Cowley with a record of 41-0 against No. 3 seeded Parkland with a record of 55-3. Both teams were ranked one and two in almost every offensive category and both played well in the tournament to reach the match. Parkland came into the match with much experience in the tournament, having finished runner-up in the match for three straight years and eighth in the previous nine years.

Parkland came out hitting strong in set one and handed Cowley just its fourth set loss of the season (25-20). Cowley, facing adversity for one of the few times this season, came out swinging in set two and evened the match at a set a piece by winning 25-20. However, Parkland took a 10-5 lead early in set three. Cowley would answer back and pull within 16-14 but could not get over the hump as Parkland held on for the 25-21 win. With its season on the line, Cowley scored five of the first seven points of set four. But, once again, the Cobras regained control to lead 16-10. The Lady Tigers would not quit, pulling within 20-16, but Parkland proved to be too much on this day as they scored five of the final six points to claim their first national title since 2016. Cowley finished the season 41-1 and NJCAA National Tournament Runner-up. Two players were named NJCAA All-Tournament - Iva Halacheva and Rachele Tessari.

Season and post season honors were numerous for the team. Seven members of the 2021 Lady Tiger team received KJCCC honors. Iva Halacheva, Laci Beougher and Rossana Papa were each named first team All-Conference performers. Rachele Tessari, Erin Thompson, and Gyongyver Araczki were honored with second team All-Conference honors. Landry Cate was honored with All-Conference Honorable-Mention honors. Iva Halacheva, Rossana Papa, Laci Beougher, and Rachele Tessari were each named District N All-District First Team. Gyongyver Araczki was each named to District N All-District Second Team. Iva Halacheva and Rossana Papa were named VolleyballMag.com All-Americans. Rossana Papa was named Setter of the Week five times, Erin Thompson was named Defensive Player of the Week two times, Iva Halacheva was named Offensive Player of the Week nine times, and Rachele Tessari was named Offensive Player of the Week once. Iva Halacheva was awarded the NJCAA DII Offensive Player of the Week.

As a team, the Lady Tigers finished the 2021 season in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (East) – No. 1 in total kills with 1,889 kills, No. 1 in kills per set at 14.53 kills per set, No. 1 in total assists with 1,780 assists, No. 1 in total assists per set at 13.69 assists per set, No. 1 in total service aces with 433 aces, No. 1 in service aces per set at 3.33, No. 7 in total digs with 1,910 digs, No. 9 in digs per set at 14.69, No. 6 in total blocks with 187 blocks, and No. 5 in blocks per set at 1.44. In the NJCAA, the team finished No. 4 in total kills, No. 1 in kills per set, No. 4 in total assists, No. 1 in assists per set, No. 2 in total service aces, No. 1 in service aces per set, No. 43 in total digs, No. 94 in digs per set, No. 47 in total blocks, and No. 74 in blocks per set.

The team's 41 match winning streak is a Cowley record. Cowley also broke the team winning percentage record with a winning percentage of .971. The 41 wins are second All-Time in Cowley history.

Individuals did well in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (East). In hitting percentage, Gyongyver Araczki was No. 1 at .461, Iva Halacheva was No. 2 at .450, Landry Cate was No. 3 at .339, Laci Beougher was No. 4 at .329, and Rachele Tessari was No. 6 at .301.

In total kills, Iva Halacheva was No. 1 with 604 kills, Laci Beougher was No. 5 with 421 kills, Elina Zlateva was No. 8 with 315, and Gyongyver Araczki was No. 14 with 253.

In assists, Rossana Papa finished first with 1,539 total assists. In service aces, Rossana Papa finished first with 95 aces, Rachele Tessari was second with 91 aces, Landry Cate was third with 73 aces, Iva Halacheva was fourth with 71 aces and Gyongyver Araczki was ninth with 51 aces, and Sydney Unruh was 11th with 44 aces.

In digs, Erin Thompson finished fifth in total digs with 476 digs and Rachele Tessari was 16^th  with 330. In the NJCAA, individuals also did well by being ranked nationally in the following statistics: In hitting percentage, Iva Halacheva was third, Laci Beougher was 25th, and Rachele Tessari was 40th. In total kills, Iva Halacheva was third, and Laci Beougher was 21^st. In assists, Rossana Papa finished third. In service aces, Rossana Papa finished third Rachele Tessari finished fourth, Landry Cate finished 10th, and Iva Halacheva finished 12^th.

Individuals also had key highlight moments in 2021. Iva Halacheva became the third players to reach 1,000 career kills at Cowley College. Iva Halacheva became the third player to reach 600 kills in one season and finished third in single season kills at 605. Iva Halacheva became the All-Time kills leader in a career with 1,583 kills and she also became the All-Time leader in Kills per set in a career at 4.71 kills per set. Iva Halacheva finished fifth All-Time in hitting percentage with a .380 hitting percentage. Iva Halacheva finished fourth All-Time in service aces with 145. Iva Halacheva finished third in Cowley history in single-season hitting percentage at .450. Laci Beougher finished nineteenth All-Time in single-season kills with 421. Rossana Papa finished third on the single-season list for total assists 1,539. She also finished third All-Time in a single-season service aces with 95. After one year of play, she ranks eighth in career assists, third in career assists per set, and thirteenth on career service aces list. Rachele Tessari finished fourth in Cowley history in service aces in a season with 91. Gyongyver Araczki finished second in Cowley history in hitting percentage in a season with a .461 hitting percentage. Landry Cate finished tenth All-Time in a single-season in service aces with 73.