Cowley volleyball team names captains for 2026 season

Dunkleberger, a native of Edmond, Oklahoma, returns for her second season after a successful 2025 season as the setter of one of the top offenses in the nation. Her invaluable leadership skills, volleyball IQ, and setting abilities were key contributors to the 2025 season's success.

"Our freshmen class of 2025 possesses some solid leaders. Sydney is a great example. There just was a leadership presence about her that players respected, and coaches admired," Cowley head coach Steven Gream said.  "Sydney came to our program with a great number of skills, was eager to learn and was willing to learn from her peers in adjusting to the college game and Cowley. Her positive 'Team First' attitude really fits into the philosophy, vision, and standards of our program. She is a natural leader who has her own style of leadership that players and coaches respect. The team has a great respect and a high level of trust in her, and so does our coaching staff."

Gomilanovic, a native of Belgrade, Serbia, returns for her second season at Cowley after an impressive freshman season. In her freshman season, she was named First Team All-District, KJCCC First Team All-Conference, and was named to the Cowley Invitational Tournament All-Tournament team.

"Lana was a big part of our success in our 2025 season and brings her experience of playing and leading at a high level to our program in 2026. She is a competitor who hates to lose and is always training and working on her competitive edge. She will do what it takes to win at the highest level and push others to do the same in her own way. We saw her grow each day, on and off the court, during her freshman season, and look for her to bring that experience to this captain's role. Also, with her being an international player, she will relate greatly to the good number of international players we have," Gream said. "Lana also developed her great leadership qualities, the longer the season went. This was magnified even more once she entered the post season and was on a mission to raise the level of, not only her own game, but those of her teammates. Throughout the season and this spring, she has spent a lot of time building relationships…which has earned her much respect among her fellow freshmen and sophomore teammates alike. We ask all of our players to be leaders, whether they are a captain or not, and Lana did just that both on and off the court."

Cowley posted a 32-7 overall record last season and went 8-1 in KJCCC play. The Lady Tigers finished fourth in the national tournament, tied for the KJCCC conference championship, and set an NJCAA record with a 104-match winning streak.

Dunkleberger and Gomilanovic will lead the Lady Tigers into their season-opening tri-match action on August 21 against Southwestern College JV and Pratt Community College.

"We are very excited about the overall depth of leadership and experience we have on our roster and in the selection of these two captains for the 2026 season," Gream said. "These two ladies have both shown to be outstanding leaders while earning the respect of their teammates and the coaching staff on and off the court. They each possess different strengths that are critical to the success of the team. Both are warriors who compete, they go hard, and they want to play and win at a high level. There is no doubt they will represent our program well and help lead us to a successful 2026 campaign."