From RAMA PEROO/Cowley College
Facing No. 18-ranked Neosho County Wednesday inside W.S. Scott Auditorium, the No. 3 Cowley College volleyball team handed the Panthers their first conference defeat with a 25-16, 25-11, 25-18 win.
The victory keeps the Lady Tigers unbeaten on the season, as they are now 18-0 and 5-0 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. The loss drops the Panthers record to 12-5 overall and 5-1 in the conference.
Leading 8-7 in the opening set, Cowley would score nine of the next 11 points to open a 17-9 advantage. The Panthers would fight back to within 19-15 before the Lady Tigers scored six of the next seven points to win 25-16.
Set two would be all Cowley as the Lady Tigers raced out to a 17-5 advantage en route to the 25-11 win.
Set three would be more of the same as Cowley never trailed as they closed out the match with the 25-18 victory.
“We followed our game plan for the most part; we served aggressively, balanced our attack, and did not let them cheat on our outside hitters,” Gream said. “Our serve also put a lot of pressure on them and did not let their big hitters get big swings.”
Freshman Laura Bonomi led Cowley with 14 kills and eight assists, while sophomore Anna Kiss added 13 kills. Freshman Valerie Luna also played well, adding seven kills and three block assists.
“Luna was really strong at the net,” Gream said. “She might not have got a block every time, but she was touching things and causing them a lot of problems at the net.”
Sophomore libero Sadie Kabisch continued her strong play with another 20-dig effort.
“Sadie was everywhere digging everything up,” Gream said.
Setter Rossana Papa added a match-high 37 assists to go along with five digs.
Cowley will remain home to play four opponents on Friday and Saturday. The Lady Tigers will open the home tourney by facing Central Community College-Columbus on Friday at 4 p.m. before taking on Metropolitan Community College at 6. Then, on Saturday, Cowley will play Missouri State University-West Plains at 11 a.m. and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College at 5 p.m.
“It will be a very tough tournament,” Gream said. “We will face some quality teams, and it will not be easy.”
Nakazono lifts Cowley to a 2-1 win over sixth-ranked Iowa Western
In a battle of two of the top teams in the junior college rankings, the No. 5-ranked Cowley College men’s soccer team got a tie-breaking goal from Sota Nakazono with just over one minute remaining as the Tigers knocked off No. 6-ranked Iowa Western 2-1 Tuesday in Council Bluffs, IA.
“This game was a demonstration of a national tournament environment,” Cowley head coach Ruy Vaz said. “It was a top-10 match, and it lived up to the expectations. A lot of fight and intensity from both teams. I am proud of the boys; they showed resilience and determination against a top team.”
Tuesday’s contest was scoreless for most of the first half before Iowa Western’s Stefan Bilinac scored off an assist from Ryusei Shimonishi with 4:53 remaining in the half.
Cowley would even the score at 1-1 early in the second half as Sora Funakoshi scored off a free kick. The goal by Funakoshi was his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
The game would remain tied and looked destined for overtime before Cowley’s Sota Nakazono scored on another free kick from about the same distance as the first goal, as it was taken from about 30 yards out.
The goal for Nakazono was his second of the season. Tiger goalkeeper Kamy Ndione also played well, registering three saves in the win as Cowley out-shot the Reivers 11-5.
“Iowa Western is always tough, well-coached, and very organized, so that forced us to be locked in for 90 minutes,” Vaz said. “We controlled possession and their attacking transitions for the most part, so it never felt like we lost momentum. Sora Funakoshi and Sota Nakazono, once again, were clutch in set pieces, and I am happy for them.”
Cowley is now 9-1 on the season, while Iowa Western falls to 4-2-1.
The Tigers will return to conference play on Saturday at 3 p.m. when they travel to play at Garden City Community College. The Broncbusters are 5-3-4 overall and 0-3-3 in the Jayhawk Conference.
“We need to keep this energy as we return to conference play,” Vaz said. “There will be no games short of intensity. Garden will be difficult, they have many good players, and we need to be prepared.”
Lady Tiger soccer wins battle of ranked opponents
In a matchup of teams ranked in the top 10 in the latest NJCAA Division I soccer rankings, the No. 10-ranked Cowley College women’s soccer team got a goal from sophomore Ada Ronnemaa with just under eight minutes remaining in its game at No. 8-ranked Hutchinson Community College and held on to win 1-0 last weekend.
The victory moves Cowley into a three-way tie for first place in the Jayhawk Conference with a record of 5-1-2. The loss was the first of the season for Hutchinson (7-1-3), as they are now 4-1-3 in the conference.
“It is always big-time when we can win against a tough opponent on the road,” Cowley head coach Roberto dos Santos said. “The loss against Kansas City did not sit well with the girls. They came out focused and ready to play against Hutchinson.”
The Lady Tigers controlled the game as they out-shot Hutchinson 16-11 and finally broke through on Ronnemaa’s first goal of the season. Nanaka Inaba assisted on the goal by sending a free kick to Ronnemaa. The assist for Inaba was her team-leading fifth of the season.
Sophomore goalkeeper Kanon Dehama stopped all five shots she faced and recorded her first shutout of the season.
Cowley next plays at Garden City on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Lady Broncbusters (5-5-2) are just 1-5-2 in the conference. However, the Lady Tigers had to rally from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Garden City 3-2 back on August 27 in Arkansas City.
“It is good to be getting a much-needed break before we begin the second leg of the conference schedule,” dos Santos said. “It is always difficult to play the same team twice in a season.”
