Cougar volleyball comes roaring back in homecoming win over Erie

The gym lights dimmed, and "m.A.A.d city" played over the loudspeakers as the Niwot High School girls volleyball team streamed out onto the court to the delight of the huge homecoming crowd Sept. 12.

The energy was palpable as warmups started. Niwot was taking on its first league opponent of the season in Erie High School, and the Tigers wanted nothing more than to spoil the Cougars' homecoming in the Cougar gym. The student section was painted yellow and students dressed like "Minions"-a strange attempt at intimidation-with DJ Tom West presiding over the first annual DJed homecoming volleyball game. Everyone was ready for a show.

The match started, and Erie had a flying start, gaining the lead. The Tigers seemed to have the edge in focus in the early going, earning aces on precisely placed serves and hitting off the top of the Niwot block.

But the Cougars fought back in the middle of the set. A great play by Addison Ryg, where she dug diving down, got back up, then hit the ball over the net, resulted in a point for Niwot which gave them the lead, 18-17. However, the Erie defense went on lockdown mode from there on out, and Erie took the first set, 26-24.

Down 0-1, Niwot didn't panic in the huddle at the break. Players encouraged each other, remained positive, and Coach Tony Engel had confidence in his players' ability to harness the night's energy, converting it from distraction to explosiveness. DJ Tom West played "Makin' My Way Downtown" to keep spirits high in the crowd.

Early in the second set, Niwot's offense started to click. Multiple times, they ran a play where libero Elise Arends passed to Anne Haley, who set up hitter Bella Berger on the left wing for the kill. It was clear that the chemistry between these three was crisp and practiced, and Erie found it difficult to stop.

Niwot took a big lead but struggled to close out the set when Erie had a run of good serves, threatened to tie, and put the pressure back on the Cougars. But an Erie serve was called out just past the baseline, giving Niwot the second set, 25-23.

Tied 1-1 going into a crucial third set, it was clear the two teams were a great match for each other. They went back and forth, trading blocks and kills, with both teams playing excellent defense. It was close for a while, but Niwot pulled away when junior Sienna Knight went on a serving run of seven straight points to close it out, placing the ball perfectly to the area of the court that coach Tony Engel signaled to her. The Cougars took a 2-sets-to-1 lead.

Going into a fourth set where the Cougars could take the match, DJ Tom played "Not Like Us" to pump up the student section. Niwot would ride this momentum and play their cleanest and most dominant volleyball so far.

Lots of players chipped in with great plays-Jiselle Sales had a huge block, Eloise Vanselus came up with clutch hitting, and Bella Berger came flying out of the back row for a blistering spike that ricocheted off an Erie player and out of bounds, putting the set out of reach for the Tigers.

Niwot would take the fourth set and win the match, 3-1, perfectly capping off a night brimming with excitement.

The two teams were very evenly matched, and it took the home court advantage, as well as a team effort, to overcome the Tigers, who looked like a team that could make some noise in the playoffs. Niwot earned its first win in the new Granite Peaks League, where they are now 1-0, with an overall record of 5-2. The Cougars remain undefeated at home.