Cowley volleyball team names captains for 2022 season

Cowley College sophomore outside hitter Laci Beougher and sophomore middle hitter Gyongyver Araczki were selected team captains for the 2022 season by the Lady Tiger volleyball team.

Beougher, a native of Benton, Kansas, returns for her second season at Cowley after a stellar freshman season. She finished second on the team with 421 kills and 3.26 kills per set plus she hit .329 on the season. Her 421 kills was fifth best in the KJCCC and earned her First Team All-District and All-Conference honors.

"From the very beginning, we saw Laci as a leader. There was a leadership presence about her that players respected and coaches admire," Cowley head coach Steven Gream said.  "Laci showed up for pre-season prepared both physically and mentally and stepped right in to help us build our culture for the 2021 season. She is one of the players who deserves a lot of credit with how close the 2021 team was. Throughout last spring and the summer, she spent a lot of time building relationships with her new teammates. This earned much respect among her fellow freshmen and sophomore teammates alike. We ask all of our players to be leaders, whether they are a captain or not, and Laci did just that both on and off the court."

Araczki, a native of Bekescsaba, Hungary, returns for her second season at Cowley after an impressive freshman season. She finished first on the team in hitting percentage at .461 while adding 264 kills at 2.03 kills per set, 78 blocks, and 51 service aces. These numbers earned her Second Team All-District and All-Conference honors.

"Gyongyver is another natural leader who has her own style of leadership that players and coaches respect. She tells it like it is, but does it a way that her teammates respect her for her input and holding them accountable," Gream said. "Gyongyver is a mature leader in every aspect of her life, not just on the court. The team has a high level of trust in her and so does our coaching staff. She played for the national team in Hungary and brings that experience of not only playing at that level but also leading at that level. Gyongyver is a 'let's get it done' type of player who is always training on her competitive edge. She will do what it takes to win at the highest level and push others to do the same. With her being an international player in our program, she will relate greatly to the good number of international players that we have."

Cowley posted a 41-1 overall record last season and went 10-0 in KJCCC play. The Lady Tigers finished NJCAA national runner-up, won the KJCCC regular season championship, and won the Plains A District championship.

Beougher and Araczki lead the Lady Tigers into their season-opening tri-match action on August 18 against Seminole State and Southwestern College JV.

"We are very excited on the overall depth of leadership we have on our roster and in the selection of these two captains for the 2022 season," Gream said. "These two ladies each possess different strengths that are critical to the success of the team. Both have shown to be outstanding leaders while earning the respect of their teammates and the coaching staff on and off the court. They are warriors who compete, they go hard and they want to play and win at a high level. There is no doubt they will represent our program well and help lead us to a successful 2022 campaign."