For a brief glorious moment, Allen Community College had the defending champions on their heels.
The Red Devil volleyball squad hosted No. 1 ranked Cowley County Wednesday in front of a raucous home crowd. Cowley hasn’t lost a volleyball match since 2022.
So dominant were the Tigers last year, that Cowley had won 123 of a possible 128 sets.
So far this season, Cowley has won its first four matches all by 3-0 sweeps.
And a blistering 6-0 start against Allen to start Wednesday’s match had the Tigers ready to cruise to another dominating victory.
But Allen had other plans.
The Red Devils found their footing, and roared back after trailing 23-18, rattling off four straight points, then benefiting from a pair of rare Cowley service errors as the Tigers tried to serve out the match.
Alysa Ladson’s kill gave Allen its first lead of the match at 27-26, and Cowley hit long on a return on the next point to give Allen a 28-26 win.
But the Tigers are champs for a reason.
Cowley County found its groove in the second set and didn’t look back to secure the 3-1 win, 26-28, 25-12, 25-18 and 25-15.
The loss drops Allen to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in Jayhawk Conference play, but should give the team a boost of confidence as the season hits high gear, head coach Maria Aikins said.
“When you look at a loss, it stinks, but we played some really good volleyball,” Aikins said. “The environment was good, the student body was good, and the girls wanted it for each other. That’s a true testament to a good team.”
COWLEY dominated the earliest stretches, scoring the match’s first six points.
“They tried to serve us out of the game, but we tied up our shoelaces and cleaned it up and picked each other up a little bit,” Aikins said.
Ladson had back-to-back kills to pull Allen to within 13-10, but the Red Devils could draw no closer than two as Cowley maintained its advantage.
