DENVER – Lainee Nein wasn’t about to be denied.

Playing on the Denver Coliseum floor where her team’s three-peat bid was denied a year earlier, the Sedgwick County junior found herself back in a familiar place Saturday night. The Cougars were playing for the Class 2A girls volleyball championship for the fourth year in a row, facing a Wiggins team that edged Sedgwick County last November.

So after the Tigers forced a fourth set, Nein took over. The junior had six of her match-high 22 kills in the deciding set, sparking a 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 25-10 victory and giving the squad its third championship in four years.

“It doesn’t seem real,” Nein said. “I’m just taking it all in. It just feels amazing, especially (given) last year after we lost. It’s just … sweet.”

Sedgwick County (25-4) went 4-0 at the Coliseum, defeating Wiggins twice along the way.

That had to feel that much better, given that it was the Tigers who took a five-set victory last November.

After winning the first two sets Saturday night, only for Wiggins (20-11) to take the third, a fire was lit under the Cougars.

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“I think we were like ‘we have to win this,’” Nein said. “We’re not going to go back to last year when we lost in five.”

Sedgwick County scored 14 of the final 17 points in the set, with Abigail Dille’s block on match point sending the team into a frenzy.

“That was so awesome,” Dille said. “It was so fun having all my teammates behind me. It was surreal.”

Nein led a Cougars attack that was relentless all night. She nearly brought the team back from a deficit in the third set with three kills over five points, but the Tigers were able to stay alive.

“I think when I’m on, I’m on,” Nein said. “I don’t know how to explain it. I just hit the ball as hard as I can and hopefully it goes down.”

Wiggins came into the tournament as the sixth seed, and after a loss to the Cougars in the semis, the team fought back to advance out of the elimination bracket before upsetting No. 1 Simla in the semifinals.

Seniors Mackenzee Steinbar and Kennedy Kerr were anchors throughout the season. Sophomore Tenleigh Lorenzini and freshman Karsyn Kerr both had a strong showing in the championship, both with their attack and block.