Lady Tigers go 2-1 at Triton Invite, prepare to host KCK in important conference tilt
Playing another challenging tournament as the regular season winds down, the No. 3-ranked Cowley College volleyball team went 2-1 at the Triton Invitational on Friday and Saturday in Fort Dodge, IA.
On Friday, Cowley opened with a 25-22, 25-11, 25-19 win over the North Dakota State College of Science. Also, on Friday, the Lady Tigers would get a rematch against second-ranked Kirkwood Community College, who defeated Cowley the previous weekend in Illinois. The outcome was much the same with Kirkwood winning 25-17, 25-12, 25-23.
Cowley returned to the court on Saturday and defeated 15th-ranked Des Moines Area Community College 25-19, 25-15, 19-25, 25-17.
"We played some good teams which will help us prepare for this final stretch of matches and the national tournament," Cowley head coach Steven Gream said.
Cowley opened the Invitational against North Dakota State College of Science. The Lady Tigers trailed 13-10 before coming back for the 25-22 win of the opening set.
Leading 10-7 in set two, Cowley scored seven points in a row and never trailed in the 25-11 win.
Then, in set three, the Lady Tigers fell behind 13-12 before rallying for the 25-19 win.
Cowley freshmen Lana Gomilanovic led the Lady Tigers with 15 kills.
The Lady Tigers returned to the court two hours later when they took on No. 2-ranked Kirkwood, which defeated Cowley the previous weekend in Illinois.
The match started similarly to the first meeting between the teams, with Kirkwood in control of a 25- 17 win in set one.
Holding on to a slim 9-8 lead of set two, the Eagles pulled away for the 25-12 victory.
Cowley rallied from a 16-11 deficit in set three to lead 22-21 before Kirkwood scored four of the next five points to win 25-23.
"You almost have to play perfect in order to beat Kirkwood," Gream said. "They are a team we need to work to prepare for in case we play them again at nationals."
Gomilanovic again led Cowley in kills with 11.
On Saturday, the Lady Tigers took on No. 15-ranked Des Moines Area Community College.
Cowley won the first two sets, 25-19 and 25-15, before the Bears took set three 25-19. However, the Lady Tigers bounced back to win set four 25-17 to improve their record to 27-3.
Gomilanovic finished with a double-double (17 kills, 10 digs), while Josci Buckley added 14 kills.
Sophomore setter Hanna Darvas finished with 50 assists, and freshman Tessa Mossburg added 40 digs in the three matches.
Cowley will return home to face No. 5-ranked Kansas City in an important conference match on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The Lady Tigers (7-0) can clinch the conference title with a win over the Blue Devils (6-1), who are one game behind Cowley in the conference standings with two matches left to play.
"KCK balances the floor very well and are the No. 1 serving team in the conference," Gream said. "We are prepared to get Kansas City's best game. Our main thing is play Cowley volleyball. If we can do that, we will be fine."