Student Athlete of the Week: Julia Dadey

The Niwot High volleyball team likely doesn't come back to beat Frederick without senior Julia Dadey.

After dropping the match's first two sets, Niwot's back row, which included Dadey, was the spark that got the Cougars going en route to reverse-sweeping (20-25, 17-25, 25-15, 25-16, 15-8) the Golden Eagles on Oct. 10.

"There were four or five (plays) that Julia Dadey got on her horse and ran from sideline to sideline picking up balls," Niiwot head coach Tony Engel said following the match. "That was the difference in that match."

The match's box score agreed with Engel's initial reaction to the comeback win. Dadey tallied a career-high 14 digs, two more than her previous best of 12 that she produced exactly one week prior.

"She was huge," Engel said. "(That's) senior leadership right there. She never doubted for a minute that everything was going to work out the way that it was supposed to. She kind of threw us on her back. She wouldn't let that ball hit the floor, and we converted six or seven of those."

As Engel alluded to, the veteran Dadey didn't allow Niwot's somber mentality to continue past the second set.

"After that second set, our faces were showing like, 'Uh oh.' We've never really had to feel that before," Dadey said. "But I think that motivated us because we didn't even want to drop a set, let alone drop two sets."

Dadey also credited the chemistry that she has with senior setter Sami Sessa for getting Niwot back in rhythm. The two have played together since eighth grade and are now finishing out their high school careers in the same backcourt.

Both Dadey and Sessa produced big plays that brought life back to their teammates.

"The energy starts with that first step because if you do something great, then the next person's like, 'Oh, I gotta do something great for her,'" Dadey said. "I think it just starts back there and then we just worked our way up."

After sweeping Mountain View two days later, the 10-4 (7-1 4A/3A Longs Peak League) Cougars will likely qualify for the looming state tournament. But first, they'll end their regular season against Riverdale Ridge on Oct. 17 before playing in the Longs Peak League tournament.

Dadey said she's doing her best to cherish her final few weeks playing high school volleyball.

"My goals are just to keep putting the ball away, play some Cougar ball and really just soak in every single moment I get with this team because I'm really gonna miss it," Dadey said.