Cowley volleyball places fifth at national championships

Bouncing back from a second round loss to Southwestern Illinois Community College on Thursday, the Cowley College volleyball team regrouped to win its next two matches and place fifth at the NJCAA Division II National Championships played in Scottsdale, AZ.

On Friday, the Lady Tigers defeated Des Moines Area Community College 30-27, 30-20, 32-30 to advance to the fifth/sixth place match against Illinois Central on Saturday.

Cowley pulled out a pair of 30-28 wins to open the match before losing game three 23-30. However, the Lady Tigers regrouped to close out the match with a 30-26 win of game four. Cowley won three of four matches at the national tournament as they finished the season with a record of 31-6.

“The ladies came back from the loss to Southwestern Illinois to play good enough to win,” Cowley head coach Joanna Pryor said. “It’s hard to come back from a loss when you wanted to finish first.”

The fifth place finish marks the third straight year the Lady Tigers have placed in the top-five at nationals. Fellow Jayhawk East foe Johnson County lost to Kishwaukee (IL) 30-22, 30-26, 20-30, 30-25 in the championship match. The national title is the second in a row for Kishwaukee.

Cowley sophomore Lilian Rezende and freshman Lucia Cizmarova were named to the all-tournament team.

“They both did well for us,” Pryor said. “Everyone pulled their weight and did what they had to do.”

Rezende, who was recently named the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division Most Valuable Player and is likely to be named a two-time All-American, had a stellar two years at Cowley.

“She is the best defensive outside hitter we have ever had,” Pryor said. “She is truly going to be missed and will be hard to replace.”

Cowley will also say goodbye to sophomores Courtney Shanklin, Andrea Mitchell and Valerie Cox.

“This group of sophomores has been one of the best we have had in the last couple of years,” Pryor said. “They are good kids and did a good job of leading the freshmen.”

Cowley will return seven players from this year’s team, including Cizmarova, who was named the Jayhawk East Freshman of the Year. The Lady Tigers will also return Crystal Garman and Victoria Green, who were named Second-Team District M performers.