Volleyball: Barron Collier looks to capitalize on home-court advantage

The Cougars will be the only remaining local team to get that luxury.

Barron hosts West Palm Beach-William T. Dwyer (12-13) tonight at 7 in the Class 5A Region 4 quarterfinals. The Cougars are one of four volleyball teams still alive in the postseason and the only team playing at home.

Gulf Coast visits Jupiter (21-2), also in the Class 5A Region 4 quarters, Estero visits Venice in the Class 5A Region 3 quarters and Immokalee visits Boca Raton-Pope John Paul (19-5) in the Class 3A Region 3 quarters. Each game will begin at 7 p.m.

A win puts the teams the regional semifinals to be played Saturday. The regional finals would be played later that night. The location of those games is yet to be determined.

The Cougars' district title game was played at Naples High, but because it was just a few minutes drive away, it almost felt like a home game, Barron coach Keith Edwards says.

Edwards expects the home crowd at Barron to be no quieter.

"When our fans get fired up, they can be as intimidating as anyone out there," he says. "It's about as important of an advantage as you could possibly get."

The volleyball team feeds off that energy, especially outside hitter Arielle Leboulch, Edwards says. Leboulch led the Cougars (17-6) to a district title win over Gulf Coast with 17 kills and 16 digs.

"It picks up the momentum of the game," Leboulch says of a loud crowd. "Things like that don't make you tired. It makes you want to keep fighting."

The Sharks (16-7) and Indians (11-10) will be on the road for a while for their regional quarterfinal games. Gulf Coast and Immokalee have to go to the other side of the state for their games. Jupiter is ranked fourth in Class 5A.

The Wildcats, who lost to Class 5A No. 3 Fort Myers in the District 12 championship, get to stay on this side of the state for their game, but it won't be an easy one. Estero (21-5) goes from the third-ranked Green Wave to top-ranked Venice (25-2).