NEVADA, MO — Cottey College volleyball delivered a thrilling weekend of competition, defending their home court with three consecutive victories over Williams Baptist (AR), Mission (MO), and Harris-Stowe State University (MO). The Comets showcased resilience, depth, and clutch performances across all matches, improving their season record and energizing their home crowd.
On Friday, October 3, Cottey opened the weekend with a dominant 3–1 win over Williams Baptist. After splitting the first two sets (25–23, 25–27), the Comets surged ahead with commanding 25–14 and 25–10 wins to close out the match. Magdalen Dougherty led the offense with 10 kills and a .429 hitting percentage, while Serafina Auberry added 11 kills and 7 digs. Raelin Calderon was nearly flawless, hitting .455 with 6 kills. The team's defense held Williams Baptist to a negative hitting percentage (-.026), with strong blocking contributions from Ryleigh Dean and Hannah Janson.
Saturday morning brought a five-set thriller against Mission (MO), where Cottey battled back from a first-set loss to win 3–2 (27–29, 25–22, 25–12, 25–27, 15–11). Auberry again led the charge with 15 kills, while Dougherty added 10 and Calderon chipped in 3 more. Saylah Rea anchored the back row with 27 assists and 9 digs, and the Comets' blocking unit tallied 9 solo blocks and 8 assists to stifle Mission's attack. Despite Mission's 61 kills, Cottey's defense and clutch fifth-set execution sealed the win.
In the afternoon match against Harris-Stowe, Cottey capped off the weekend with a 3–1 victory (25–20, 25–21, 23–25, 28–26). Dougherty exploded for 20 kills and 23 total points, while Auberry added 11 kills and 12.5 points. Tatum Marang contributed 9 kills and 4 block assists, and libero Mckinzie Bohrer led all players with 24 digs. The Comets overcame a third-set stumble and rallied in a dramatic fourth set to close out the match.
Across the weekend, Cottey's balanced attack, aggressive serving, and tenacious defense proved too much for their opponents. Dougherty totaled 40 kills over three matches, while Auberry and Rea consistently impacted both ends of the court. With momentum building, the Comets look ahead to their next challenge, confident and battle-tested.
