Owens' Bekier named first team all-league

By: 
Chris Schmidbauer

For the second straight year, Owens Community College volleyball swept their way to a District Championship.
The Express didn't drop a set over the two day period down at Sandhills Community College in North Carolina. Sophomore Kayla Bekier (Lake) has been a big part of the Express’ success.
Owens began tournament play yesterday, facing off against Patrick Henry in the afternoon. They beat the Patriots in straight sets 25-8, 25-12, and 25-7. Owens would get a short rest before taking on Butler County in the evening match. The Express would again win in three sets, winning 25-15, 25-4, and 25-13.
The Express would play in the Mid-Atlantic District Semifinals this morning, when they took on Sandhills. Owens had swept Sandhills earlier this season, during the Owens Invitational. Much like the earlier matchup, the Express would dominate. They would win in three sets again, 25-18, 25-15 and 25-17.
That would setup another matchup against fellow OCCAC member Columbus State for the District title. Owens and the Cougars have faced each other three times previously, with the Express sweeping the first two matches. The Express won last Saturday in the Region XII tournament, beating Columbus State 3-1. Owens would win for the fourth straight time over the No. 3 ranked Cougars 3-0. They would win 25-17, 25-13, and 25-19 to win the District championship.
Owens is now 40-4 overall, and the team has now won at least 40 matches for fifth straight season. 
The team will now have two weeks off to prepare for the National Championship. They will likely be the No. 1 overall seed in the NJCAA Division III National Championship tournament. The tournament will be played in Rochester, Minnesota at the UCR Regional Sports Center for the second year in a row. Owens defeated Eastfield 3-2 there a year ago to win the program's first national championship. 
On Monday afternoon, the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) announced its recipients for the 2019 All-OCCAC team members. Owens placed four players on the team and Owens head coach Sonny Lewis was named the OCCAC's Coach of the Year. 
Freshman Tyriana Settles took home the most hardware, winning OCCAC Player of the Year and being named to the all-conference First Team. Settles had 220 kills and had a .359 kill percentage during 16 league matches, both of which ranked her in the top three in the OCCAC. She was also was strong in the back row, finishing with 4.10 digs per set, which seventh best during the conference season. Settles is the fifth player in as many years to win the award for the Express.
Fellow freshman Rebecca Brown and sophomore Kayla Bekier were both named to the All-OCCAC First Team as well. Brown set the single season record for assists this past weekend at the Mid-Atlantic District Tournament. She currently sits at 1,535 total assists for the season. Brown will have at least three more matches to improve on that mark. Bekier is second on the team in kills with 376 and she is third on the team in blocks with 78. 
Freshman Semira Neely was an Honorable Mention All-OCCAC. Neely is the team leader in blocks (138) and service aces (76). She is also third on the team in kills with 273.
Sonny Lewis was named OCCAC Coach of the Year for the 10th time since 2002. Lewis won his 700th game as head coach back on October 26th against Schoolcraft. He won the award previously in 2002, '03, '06, '07, '08, '10, '11, '15 and '17.
Owens is currently preparing to defend their national championship. The team will now have two weeks off to prepare for the National Championship. They will be the No. 1 overall seed in the NJCAA Division III National Championship tournament. The tournament will be played in Rochester, Minnesota at the UCR Regional Sports Center for the second year in a row. Owens defeated Eastfield 3-2 there a year ago to win the program's first national championship.
 

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