Cowley volleyball team lands Great Bend standout

Fresh off capturing back-to-back national championships, the Cowley College volleyball program has signed Cassie Ellegood of Great Bend, KS, to begin her college career in the fall of 2025.

Ellegood, a 5-foot-11 middle hitter/outside hitter, prepped at Great Bend High School, where she played three seasons of varsity volleyball. In her senior season, she led her team to a 35-5 record (the school's best record), finished in the first round of the Kansas State tournament, and won the conference championship.

During the season, she totaled 280 kills at 3.40 per set, a .275 hitting percentage, a .464 kill percentage, 53 aces,111 digs, and 53 blocks. She was named team captain, named First Team WAC All-Conference, and was ranked 66th top player in the 2025 class in Kansas and the 15th best middle in the 2025 class in Kansas by Prep Dig.

In her junior season, she led her team to a 31-5 record, finished in the final round of Kansas Sub-state, and won a conference championship. Ellegood recorded 230 kills at 2.70 per set, a .250 hitting percentage, a .436 kill percentage, and 67 blocks.

In her sophomore season, she led her team to a 19-15 record, finished in the first round of Kansas Sub-state and second in the conference. She recorded 60 kills and 48 blocks.

Her career totals included 570 kills, a .236 hitting percentage, 241 blocks, and 54 aces.

Off the volleyball court, Ellegood also participated in four seasons of track and field at Great Bend High School, where she led the team to the state qualifier round three times. In her junior year, she was sixth in the high jump at state. She also participated in basketball for two years for the varsity team.

Cowley head volleyball coach Steven Gream states, "Cassie is a player that we have had an eye on her whole high school career and have seen her grow in our camps and during her four seasons of competition. Great Bend does a great job training its athletes, and we knew she was a player we would want to add to our program. She will be a great addition to our program. Her athleticism and timing allow her to play strong at the net with her attacking and blocking abilities. Cassie ran a faster offense at Great Bend and does a lot of the things we teach in our program, so I see her transition from high school to college to be an easier one with that experience. While recruiting her, we were very impressed with her amazing athletic ability, along with her powerful arm swing and ability to run a variety of sets. Cassie has great court awareness, court vision, the ability to play both middle and outside positions, and her ability to play strong at the net on offense and defense. We are very excited to have her as a part of the Cowley volleyball program."

Ellegood is the daughter of Myron and Sarah Ellegood of Great Bend, Kansas.