Lady Tigers dominate Cowley Invitational, on the verge of 100 wins in a row
Nearing 100 victories in a row, the No. 1-ranked Cowley College volleyball team went 4-0 at the Cowley Invitational Tournament held Friday and Saturday inside W.S. Scott Auditorium. Cowley is now 18-0 on the season and has won 99 matches in a row dating back to the 2023 season.
"I thought the weekend helped us prepare for the conference stretch that is getting ready to come up," Cowley head coach Steven Gream said.
On Friday, Cowley defeated Central Nebraska 25-15, 25-11, 25-17, before taking down No. 21-ranked Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College 25-18, 25-19, 25-19.
The Lady Tigers had seven players record an ace in the win over Central Nebraska as Cowley finished with 20 aces for just the fourth time in Coach Gream's 10 years at the school.
"We were putting pressure on our opponents with our serve," Gream said.
The Lady Tigers returned to the court on Saturday and defeated Pratt 25-20, 25-11, 25-17 and Metropolitan Community College 25-20, 25-12, 26-24.
Sophomore setter Hanna Darvas had her eighth double-double in the win over Pratt with 34 assists and 10 digs. Freshman Lana Gomilanovic recorded her fourth double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs in the win over Metropolitan CC.
"Our offense clicked on all cylinders and our defense was tough," Gream said.
Sophomore setter Hanna Darvas needs only 10 assists to achieve 2,000 for her career.
"Hanna did a great job of distributing the ball and balancing our attack," Gream said.
Josci Buckley (35 kills), Hanna Darvas (134 assists), Ashlynn Jaccard (33 kills), and Gomilanovic (41 kills) were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Lady Tigers can make it an incredible 100 wins in a row when they play at Fort Scott on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The Greyhounds are 3-16 overall and 0-4 in the conference.
"We really don't talk about things like 100 wins; we talk to the players about staying in the present and focusing on the next game," Gream said.
Already owners of the longest winning streak in the history of NJCAA Division II volleyball, the Tigers are nearing the all-time record held by NCAA Division I school Penn State University, which won 109 matches in a row from 2007 to 2010.