Student Athlete of the Week: Anne Haley

Head coach Tony Engel was overcome with emotion when asked about the importance of Anne Haley to his Niwot High School girls volleyball team.

"Anne's a flat-out winner and she's been a winner since her freshman year when she walked into the gym," Engel said. "There's not many kids that do that, so she's special. I really appreciate everything that she brings."

After missing about one month of the season with an ankle injury, Haley recently returned to Niwot's lineup, and the junior setter's presence was undoubtedly felt at regionals on Nov. 4. Her passion for the sport shined throughout as the Cougars beat both Denver North High School and host Longmont High School to qualify for the Class 4A state tournament.

"We wanted it so bad," Haley said. "Longmont played so good and we knew how badly they wanted it, but I truly believed from the bottom of my heart that we wanted it more. You could tell with our energy and everything. We're all so passionate about volleyball."

Haley played like she has all season (when healthy), diving for balls and picking up teammates following mistakes. Her fellow Cougars reciprocated the effort and as a result, Niwot's season will continue on the state's biggest stage.

"We came in with a mindset of we have nothing to lose," Haley said. "But we're also a really confident team and I believed we were going to win."

Prior to her mid-season injury, Haley was putting up strong numbers at the vital position of setter. She averaged 6.7 assists per set, tallied 25 total kills and had only five errors in 99 service attempts through Sept. 28.

"Having a great setter can cover up for a lot of sins and she's a great setter," Engel said. "We're going to have a lot of fun next year and hopefully, the fun continues this year."

In the eyes of Haley, however, Niwot's season could have turned south if it weren't for Sienna Knight, a sophomore who inherited a bigger role when Haley injured her ankle.

"I missed out on a lot of games, but Sienna, our other setter, stepped in and she did so good," Haley said. "She won the games that we needed to win for us to be where we are."

Haley's Cougars face Palisade High School in the first round of the 4A state tournament on Thursday, Nov. 9 at the Denver Coliseum.

As a sophomore last year, Haley played in all five of Niwot's state tournament games, recording over 40 assists in each of the first two.