By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The Great Bend High School volleyball team posted a 57-42 record in the three years Valarie Luna played varsity there. She also won a state high jump title her senior year. Still, that amount of success could not have prepared Luna for what was to come in her two seasons playing volleyball at Cowley College in Arkansas City. With a 3-1 win over Johnson County in the NJCAA, Div. II National Volleyball Championships Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Tigers secured a second-straight national championship and became the first ever NCJAA team to post back-to-back unbeaten seasons.
"Heading off to college, I knew that Cowley volleyball was one of the top programs in the nation and I wanted to be apart of it," Luna said. "But never in a million years would I have guessed that I’d be bring back home not one but two national titles to my name. Never losing a match in my junior college career is a rare to say."
This group of Cowley sophomores finished their junior college careers at 81-0 and lost just 10 sets in two years. The 81 consecutive wins are an NJCAA record. In two years, Cowley doubled its volleyball national championship total to four, which is tied for second most in NJCAA DII history with Parkland (Ill.).
"Heading off to college, I was stressed," said Luna. "Leaving my family and friends behind, meeting new people, adjusting to the new community and overall learning to live life on my own was a scary moment for me. Thankfully, everyone Arkansas City is welcoming. The support here is huge. It's like I never left home. Great Bend is exactly the same way; everyone loves to come out and support all the sports."
Luna saw her share of personal success as well. As a freshman last season, she was a second-team all-conference pick after finishing with 206 kills, 84 blocks, and a .344 hitting percentage. This season, she earned third-team all-conference honors with 169 kills, 62 blocks, and a .303 hitting percentage.
Luna plans to continue her playing career at a four-year college next season but has not yet committed to a school.