Posted on Fri, May. 09, 2008

Cooper City boys' volleyball coach Warren Denise admits it -- he's ``full of clichés.''

''You play 'em one at a time'' is one he likes. ''We just try to get better every game'' is another.

Maybe that is just the way he is.

Or maybe his cliché love stems from last year, when the Cowboys barely reached their district tournament, and then bowed out in the first round -- despite spending years, Denise said, declaring 2007 as their guaranteed state-bound season.

And, maybe, all of it is why -- for the first time in school history -- Cooper City (17-2) is one of the last eight teams standing in Florida, readying itself for Friday's state quarterfinal match at Douglas High School against Lake Mary.

Don't believe Denise's commitment to convention? Well, he isn't alone in claiming that state wasn't even a goal.

Just ask his best player.

''To be honest,'' junior Travis Nichols said, ``I really wasn't expecting to go this far this season. It was a big surprise to me.''

Instead, the team respected the depth of its district. And after winning a five-game marathon against Chaminade-Madonna -- which beat Cooper City earlier in the year -- to claim District 11, the Cowboys pulled off another five-game comeback against favored Hialeah-Miami Lakes on Tuesday.

Now Cooper City is one of two Broward County teams remaining (perennial contender and 2005 state champion Cardinal Gibbons, which plays Boca Raton Spanish River on Friday, is the other).

Although Cooper City is ''a really, really young team,'' in Nichols' words -- it features just two seniors, and Matt Bente never played before this year -- Denise likes his chances.

Reason No. 1 is Nichols.

''He's got to be the best player in Broward County,'' Denise said of his swing hitter. ``When things are going maybe not your way, you can always throw it up to him [and] count on him to do something positive for your team.''

Nichols, Denise said, also is a leader who doesn't berate his teammates when they make mistakes. Instead, he encourages.

Same with senior Travis Burch.

''He's a very intelligent kid,'' Denise said of Burch. ``If he sees something that needs to be done, then he tries to do it. It doesn't matter if he likes to do it, or if that's where he prefers to be. He's that type of kid.''

Another cliché? Maybe so.

But they all have gotten the Cowboys this far -- and aiming to go even farther.

''Hopefully, we won't be all freaked out that [the game's] over in a different gym,'' Denise said. ``It's still going to be volleyball, and the teams are still going to be good like Chaminade was good and HML was good.

``And if we don't start thinking about what we're going to say at the winner's podium or something like that, then I like our chances.''

FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL

STATE QUARTERFINALS (at Douglas High School)

Cooper City vs. Lake Mary, 2

Cardinal Gibbons vs. Boca Raton Spanish River, 7

BASEBALL

REGIONAL FINALS (Game 2 30 minutes after completion of Game 1)

Flanagan at Lake Worth Park Vista, 4 (6A)

Nova at Stuart South Fork, 4 (5A)

Chaminade-Madonna at American Heritage, 4 (3A)

Highlands Christian at Miami Christian, 1 (2A)