By Rick Assad
Each team played hard, with purpose, with enthusiasm and didn’t give an inch.
On Thursday afternoon and for slightly more than an hour, the Burroughs High girls’ volleyball team was on point and in the end swept host Burbank 25-13, 25-8, 25-22.
The deciding third set was knotted at 22-22 and it could easily have gone to the Bulldogs.
A kill from senior opposite hitter Isabella Hanson made it 23-22 in this Pacific League match, a hitting error by Burbank freshman outside hitter Emerson Chong extended the advantage to 24-22 and sophomore outside hitter Amelia Walsh’s winner sealed the game and the match.
Edwin Real has been the Burroughs coach for more than two decades and agreed that the hosts were tough and improved.
“Yes, Burbank put up a good fight,” he said. “We stayed composed in the third and made plays when we needed it most.”
For sure, Burbank is much improved from the last few seasons.
Carmen Camacho-Platas is Burbank’s first-year coach and is doing an excellent job getting her team to play as a unit.
“In the beginning, the girls felt the pressure of this being our big rivalry match,” she said. “By the third set, they found their confidence by getting good digs off Burrough’s tough offense and poking holes in their defense.”
Camacho-Platas sees improvement this season and believes the future is bright.
“We’re working to get them that confidence from the start,” she noted. “Every game, I see new improvements we’ve made, and even though this match didn’t highlight their skills as strongly as others, they learned a lot from it.”
The third game was knotted at 3-3 on a kill from Burbank junior middle blocker Madison Yosh.
The Bears went on a 6-0 spurt and led 9-3 on a kill from junior middle blocker Zoe Davis.
Burbank gathered some steam and pulled within 11-8 on an ace from senior setter Grace O’Connor.
Samantha Yosh’s block cut Burroughs’ lead to 14-12, drew within 16-14 on a winner from Chong and Chong’s service ace trimmed the margin to 18-17.
Madison Yosh’s service winner tied it at 19-19 and a kill from Hanson evened it at 20-20.
In the first game, the Bears (12-2 and 6-1 in league) led 3-0 on a block from senior middle blocker Khloe Pavia but the Bulldogs (8-11 and 3-4 in league) stormed back to even it 5-5 on a kill from Samantha Yosh.
“Burbank versus Burroughs games are always super exciting,” Pavia said of the longtime rivals. “I think our team had great energy today and we all did a great job being aggressive towards balls.”
Burroughs led 9-5 on an ace from Pavia and 12-6 after an ace from senior setter Savana Lay that saw Burbank call a timeout.
A winner from Davis made it 15-11 and a service ace from junior defensive specialist Emma De Cunzo Steinglass increased the margin to 16-11.
Pavia’s spike made it 18-13, an ace from Walsh increased the margin to 20-13 and back-to-back kills from Pavia made it 21-13 and 22-13.
Walsh’s service winner made it 23-13, Pavia’s kill made it 24-13 and a push from senior outside hitter Sienna Lay stamped the game official.
“Yeah, this is definitely a more competitive game than last year’s for sure,” Sienna Lay stated. “But I thought today was a good win and super fun.”
The middle game was the most lopsided in favor of the Bears who led from the outset.
Burroughs pulled in front 5-2 on Pavia’s kill and 9-4 on Pavia’s push. The lead blossomed to 11-5 on a Pavia winner and three straight service aces from Savana Lay made it 16-6.
An ace from sophomore defensive specialist Kylee Beveridge increased the cushion to 18-7 as Burbank needed a break in the action.
Beveridge’s service winner handed Burroughs a 19-7 advantage and senior opposite hitter Leila Lazaar’s spike made it 20-8.
Lazaar’s kill saw the Bears dash ahead 23-8 and consecutive aces from De Cunzo Steinglass made it 24-8 and 25-8.
