The culture of winning is something that the Burroughs High boys’ volleyball program has developed over the course of winning 10 consecutive league titles under coach Joel Brinton.
Friday Brinton’s team showed that it has no plans to stop that streak as the Bears easily handled visiting Crescenta Valley 25-12, 25-17, 25-18 in a Pacific League contest.
“After losing last season and not really getting a chance to play and defend a league championship, we’re trying to teach these younger guys what it is like to play on the varsity,” said Brinton, whose team would be on its way to a twelfth consecutive league title if not for COVID-19. “We’re playing and doing some things with the older guys, but we’re trying to teach the younger guys how to compete at the level that we expect.”
Burroughs (4-0, 2-0 in league) rested its top player, Harvard-bound Kade McGovern, who is nursing a sore arm.
The Bears were able to dig deep into the lineup as seven players recorded at least two kills.
Crescenta Valley hung tough in the early going, keep things tied at six.
But then a few CV errors gave Burroughs a 10-6 advantage. A Falcon timeout didn’t stop the bleeding as Burroughs rolled off four more consecutive points to push the lead to 14-6. Michael Cutone and Mark Hopkins had kills for Burroughs during the run.
A serving ace by Carter Cottrell pushed Burroughs lead to 20-10. A pair of kills by Chris Johnson helped finish off the first game.
The Falcons once again hung tough early on in the second game as the two teams were tied at nine. A kill by Justin Burras pushed the Bears in front and the Falcons were never able to mount a comeback.
A block by Johnson pushed things to 24-16, before a Falcon ended the game.
Burroughs led from start to finish in the third and final game. Kills by Hopkins and Cottrell helped the Bears jump out to a 4-0 cushion. Cutone had a pair of kills midway through the third game that helped keep Burroughs in front comfortably.
A kill by Burras helped finish off the match. He had four for the match. Johnson and Hopkins each had five kills to lead the team.
Burroughs will face St. Francis High on the road Tuesday, before hosting La Canada on Wednesday. The Bears will hit the road again on Thursday, playing at Glendale High.
