By Rick Assad
Two well-oiled girls’ volleyball machines took the court on Tuesday evening in a nonleague match at Burroughs High, and though the end result was a three-game sweep for the visitors, aside from the final set, the other sets were relatively close as Chaminade prevailed 25-18, 25-19, 25-11.
Edwin Real is the longtime Burroughs coach and feels the match was closer than the scores indicated.
“They served us well. We couldn’t run the offense very much without the first pass,” he said. “When we passed well, I thought the offense was good. I thought we served well. They’re a good team.”
Things were knotted four times in the first set but the Eagles eventually found their wings and led 8-5 on an ace from junior setter Lauren Flowers and 10-7 on a kill from senior middle hitter Sarah Shaw.
Chaminade’s advantage swelled to 14-7 on a block from Shaw and 15-7 on an ace from senior outside hitter Piper Carlson.
The Bears (4-3) did get within 18-12 on an ace from senior opposite hitter Lily McTeer, 21-15 on a winner from junior middle blocker Khloe Pavia and 21-16 on an ace from senior middle blocker Kiana Hildebrandt, but the end portion belonged to the Eagles.
Chaminade’s cushion was sliced to 21-17 when sophomore middle hitter Tiffany Perez lined a shot out of bounds.
A kill from Perez made it 22-17 and a dagger from junior outside hitter/opposite hitter Shayla Martinez handed the Eagles (10-1) a 23-17 lead.
The first set went into Chaminade’s column on a kill from junior middle hitter Maile-Luana Moiso’s winner.
The middle game saw Chaminade race to a 4-0 lead on back-to-back service aces from Martinez.
The Eagles proceeded to move ahead 8-5 on a kill from Shaw and 10-8 on a tapper from Martinez.
Gritty and determined, the Bears tied the set at 10-10 when Chaminade touched the net.
Slowly but surely the Eagles eased in front 11-10 on a hit from junior Daniela Milicevic and bounded ahead 12-10 on an ace from Martinez.
Burroughs was stubborn and rallied and knotted the score at 12-12 on a stuff from Hildebrandt.
The Bears took a brief 13-12 lead when the Eagles scratched the net but a kill from Milicevic evened it at 13-13.
Hildebrandt’s kill leveled it at 14-14 and it became 15-15 on junior outside hitter Sienna Lay’s bullet.
At this junction, the Eagles outscored the Bears 8-3 and led 23-18 on an ace from sophomore setter Kathryn Vercillo as Burroughs asked for a stoppage in play.
Chaminade captured two of the next three points and clinched the set on Milicevic’s winner.
The match-ending game had the Eagles scurry to a 6-0 lead as Milicevic delivered a push for a 1-0 lead and then added a kill to make it 4-0.
Moiso tacked on a winner for a 4-0 margin and Martinez tossed in a service ace for a 6-0 edge.
The Bears clawed back and came within 6-2 on an ace from freshman middle blocker Alex Hammeke and 7-3 on a kill from freshman outside hitter Amelia Walsh.
In short order, Chaminade used a quick 3-0 spurt to march ahead 10-3. Sophomore outside hitter Nya Sapp’s kill made it 8-3, Shaw’s block extended the advantage to 9-3 and an ace from Flowers made it 10-3.
The Eagles went on an 8-5 sprint and led 18-8, but the Bears were outscored 7-3 down the stretch as Vercillo added two aces for a 21-9 lead and a 23-9 margin and when Hammeke served out of bounds, the match concluded.
