NHS girls volleyball set for success with depth and leadership

Niwot High School girls volleyball has a new coach with old expectations for another strong run at the Class 4A state title. The Cougars made it to the semi-finals last season before bowing out.

"I'd love to repeat the success we had last year and continue what the program has started in Niwot the last five or six years." first-year head coach Tony Engel said. "People expect us to be at State and I want that to continue,"

Engel was an assistant coach at Niwot before winning the top job after previous head coach, Daisha Agho, moved on to an administrative position at Berthoud High School. Engle says he and Agho have similar styles of coaching, motivating players through encouragement.

"I'm very fortunate," Engel said. "I've got a familiarity with the girls and they've accepted me. I know what they're good at and what they need to work on."

Engel says he's getting wonderful support from the seniors and last year's starters who have already stepped up as team leaders, including libero Varshini Panuganti, who earned Honorable Mention All-State last season.

"Varshini, she is a natural coach on the court," Engel said. "She has a sixth sense about how things are supposed to fit together. That's always a positive. I don't have to say that much to her and she can step forward and point things out in a very encouraging way."

The team will start four seniors and three underclassmen, with a strong bench, Engel said. Other returning starters include senior Paige Demosthenes (pin), senior Grace Demmel (middle), junior Addison Engel (middle), and sophomore Anne Haley (setter). In the starting lineup for the first time this season are senior Hannah Waldron (pin) and junior Giselle Grier (pin). Juniors Lizzy Kaus and Sami Sessa are key bench players, Engel added.

"Got some very pleasant surprises in terms of kids who have come back for their junior year and are dramatically improved. We're excited about that," he said. "Some of it is eating and growing. In addition to that, they've worked hard in the off-season and have been dedicated in their club seasons to improving, and it shows."

Engel is encouraged by his team's physical ability and notes a strong x-factor with their personal chemistry. "They like each other on and off the court. They truly are friends. That's very evident in how they all get together and do things together."

Even though there's been a change in the person at the end of the bench, Engle plans to follow a playbook that worked well in the past: be competitive each match while steadily improving so that the team reaches its peak late in the season. "We got to state and were a freight train rolling," he said. "Trying to capture that same kind of magic in the bottle again."

The engine fires up at 6:30 p.m., Sept. 6 in a home match versus Silver Creek.