Niwot High School boys volleyball splits week, jumps to 11-3

Coming off of a long, six-game week, the Niwot High School boys volleyball team has wrapped up a short week, splitting two games. Niwot won the first match against Severance High School, but lost to the Poudre School District in a nail biter, coming down to the last set where Niwot fell, 3-2.

Niwot's match against Severance was a clean sweep, as Niwot won all three sets, 25-18, 25-14, and 25-13. The Cougars notched 42 kills and nine aces against Severance, and also played a strong game defensively, grabbing 31 digs and three blocks.

Shen Lam and Jenu Ngialah led the way with kills, notching 12 and 10 kills respectively. Cooper Chudleigh followed them with eight kills, followed by Diego Kheng's six, Sage Xiong's four, and Rowan Keller's two. Ngialah also led in aces along with Xiong with three each. Charlie Kirtland and Lam rounded out aces with two and one, respectively.

Kheng had one solo block, while Keller had two block assists, followed by Chudleigh and Xiong who had one each. Lam also led the way in digs, grabbing nine. Lam was followed by Kirtland's six, Keller's five, Xiong's three, Gabe Victor's three, Ngaliah's three, Chudleigh's one, and Owen Power's one.

The Cougars' next matchup against Poudre School District was a back-and-forth battle, as Niwot swapped sets with Poudre. The Cougars took the first set, 25-20, before dropping the second set, 25-18. Niwot bounced back, taking the third set 25-22, before dropping a hard-fought 28-26 fourth set. The deciding set ended with the Cougars on the short end of a 15-12 score, to drop Niwot to 11-3 on the year in heartbreaking fashion.

The Cougars had 59 kills and four aces over the course of the Poudre match. Niwot had a great game defensively, with two blocks and 16 block assists. The Cougars also recorded 73 digs.

Lam and Kheng led the way for Niwot in kills, both notching 13. They were followed by Chudleigh and Ngiahlah's eleven, then by Murray Avila's seven, Xiong's three, and Keller's one. Ngaliah led the way in aces with two, while Lam and Kirtland grabbed one each.

Xiong was able to clinch two solo blocks for the Cougars, while Kheng led the way with five block assists. Chudleigh's four block assists, Ngialah's and Avila's three, and Lam's one followed. Kirtland led the team with 18 digs, followed closely by Xiong's 16 and Chudleigh's 14. Niwot's digs were rounded out by Ngialah's nine, Lam's five, Avila's four, Victor's three, Kheng's three, and Keller's one.

The Cougars have a long week as the season is gearing up for its end. Niwot starts with three league games against Riverdale Ridge High School, Greeley Central High School, and Centaurus High School. The Cougars will then battle it out at Saturday's tournament on April 20, starting off with matches against Denver Waldorf and DSST Conservatory.