Cottey Comets split tri-match to open season

By Joe Warren

Nevada Daily Mail

The Cottey Comets opened the 2004 volleyball season with a tri-match at Iola, Kan., Tuesday.

The Comets played the Sterling College junior varsity in a best-of-three match to open, beating them 30-25, 18-30, 15-8.

Then Cottey played Allen County Community College, and despite taking two of the first three games, the Comets fell in five.

Allen won, 30-26, 25-30, 24-30, 30-22 and 15-8.

Cottey head coach Marla Kannady said the team was playing well together for the season opener.

"For our first night out we showed tremendous team play," Kannady said. "The thing we need to work on is our mental breakdowns."

Kannady said there were too many mental lapses for the team to realistically win.

"It eventually took its toll on us," she said.

Nonetheless, the Comets had a chance to put Allen away with a 2-1 lead going into the fourth game.

"As a team we have a tendency to be ahead in a match," Kannady said calling on experience from last season as well. "We're just going to have to work on the mind-set of getting the job done instead of letting them back in the match."

The Comets will have a chance to work on that mind-set when they host Ozark Christian College Thursday.

The match against Ozark is the 2004 home opener for Cottey College. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.