By Rick Assad
A clean sweep was completed by the Burroughs High girls’ volleyball team over host Burbank which is much improved from a season ago.
This fact didn’t translate into a victory for the Bulldogs, which fell short in a nonleague Rio-Pacific Conference match on Tuesday night.
The official tallies were 25-12, 25-13, 25-14 in favor of the Bears, who were led by junior outside hitter Amelia Walsh with 13 kills and senior middle blocker Zoe Davis with seven spikes.
In each set the visitors seized control somewhat early and this proved more than enough as the game continued.
Senior Madison Yosh, sophomore Samantha Yosh and sophomore Emerson Chong played well for Burbank (6-8-3).
Edwin Real is the Burroughs head coach and knows that Burbank is better.
“Burbank did a good job of serving well early,” he said. “Once we settled down, we passed better and were able to run our offense. I thought we served well too.”
The third game felt very similar to the previous two as Burroughs (10-6) took control 6-2 on a push from Walsh. The score swelled to 10-3 on a kill from Davis.
Senior outside hitter Alina Abrahamian’s spike made it 11-6 and a kill from Abrahamian extended the advantage to 12-6.
A bullet from senior opposite hitter Hailey Collins saw the Bears march ahead 14-6 while a push from junior opposite hitter Alex Hammeke made it 15-6.
The barrage continued as Collins added a spike for a 16-6 margin and Abrahamian contributed a winner for a 17-6 advantage which prompted a time out from Burbank.
Davis then tossed in an ace for a 17-6 cushion and a rocket from senior opposite hitter Paige Rowan made it 20-11 in favor of the Bears.
A Walsh dagger pushed the lead to 22-12 and Walsh’s kill made it 24-12 before Burbank junior Mona Gasparyan’s serve sailed out of bounds for the set and the match.
Senior outside hitter Trinity Taylan’s ace made it 2-0 in favor of Burroughs in the first game and Taylan’s tapper saw the Bears lead 9-7.
Sophomore setter Lola Juarez’s push made it 11-7 in favor of the visitors and Walsh’s kill witnessed the Bears pull ahead 13-8. Walsh’s kill made it 15-9 and a Davis tapper made it 17-10.
A service ace from Walsh made it 21-11 and Davis contributed a service winner that capped the set.
Burbank sophomore Farryn Hall chipped in with an ace that sliced the lead to 4-3 in the initial set and Chong’s service winner made it 22-12.
Sabrina Sullivan is Burbank’s first-year head coach and saw improvement.
“Our defense really stood out today,” she said. “No matter how fast or how hard they hit, we were still rallying and finding a way to keep sending the ball back over.”
The second set saw Burbank junior Elisa Ruiz add a kill that made it 3-1 but it was knotted 6-6 on a push from Taylan.
Taylan then added three straight aces that made it 12-9, 13-9 and 14-9.
When Davis tossed in a block it was 16-10 and senior defensive specialist Emma De Cunzo Steinglass ten delivered consecutive aces that made it 17-10 and 18-10.
Chong’s ace cut the lead to 22-12 but Walsh’s push made it 24-12 and when Davis added a kill, the game was concluded.
Sullivan saw a slight difference in the two teams.
“I think the biggest difference is that we played a game that was mostly out of system,” she said. “They run a faster offense than we’ve seen all year so we were having some trouble catching up to it.”
