It took 62 minutes for the Burroughs High girls’ volleyball team to vanquish host Hoover, 25-9, 25-17, 25-9, in a Pacific League match on Tuesday.
The Indians started quickly and ended the same way as the Tornadoes were hit with multiple blitzes and couldn’t recover. The only game Hoover played reasonably well was the second, but in the other two were overrun by the Indians’ passing, defense and hitting.
As usual, Burroughs was paced by sophomore middle blocker Marin Grote, who finished with 13 kills, while senior outside hitter Danielle Ryan had six kills.
“Every match, every practice, we want to get better,” Burroughs coach Edwin Real said. “We’re making our passes better and we’re getting good passes from our setters. We want to spread the ball around so that we can score from anywhere on the floor.”
The Indians led 3-0 in the middle game on a winner from Grote, but Hoover (1-5 and 0-2 in league) tied it at 4-4 and led 5-3, before Burroughs went on a 6-1 run for a 9-6 lead on Ryan’s smash.
“Our whole team has to play at a high level,” Grote said. “We have to give a good effort every time. I thought I played at a B-plus because I could have been more of a leader. I had one pass and I didn’t do a very good job. I thought that I could have done more.”
Burroughs moved in front 13-8 on a service ace from sophomore setter Lauren Zedlar, and led 15-9 on junior middle blocker Caleigh Paster’s kill.
After Ryan’s smash made it 20-15, it became 22-16 on senior defensive specialist Samantha Sullivan’s ace. From there, the Indians outscored the Tornadoes, 3-1, with Paster’s block being the game-clincher.
“Sammy passed real well today,” Real said of Sullivan. “She’s at 80 percent, which is real good. That means she’s hitting the target at a high rate.”
The third game saw Burroughs bolt ahead 6-2 on an ace from sophomore setter Mia Staub, and led 10-6 on senior opposite hitter Jessica Rury’s kill.
It became a flood of points for the Indians, who outscored the Tornadoes, 10-2, and included sophomore setter Payton Jensen’s ace for a 12-6 lead, and Ryan’s service ace that made it 14-7.
Senior middle blocker Febbie Santa Isabel’s winner put the Indians ahead, 15-8, senior defensive specialist Katheryn Dominguez’s consecutive aces made it 16-8 and 17-8, Grote’s winner put the Indians in front, 18-8, and Dominguez’s back-to-back aces put the visitors in front, 19-8 and 20-8.
The Indians (2-3 and 2-0 in league) went on a 5-1 spurt as Grote’s kill made it 21-9, Staub’s ace made it 22-9, Rury’s kill made it 23-9, and Grote’s two points gave Burroughs the lead at 24-9 and 25-9.
Hoover led 1-0 in the first game and it was tied at 1-1 on Grote’s winner. What followed was a 6-2 blitz that included two aces from senior defensive specialist Zoe Baer that made it 2-1 and 3-1, while sophomore outside hitter Julianna Cottrell’s kill made it 4-3, and Jensen’s ace gave the Indians a 5-3 cushion.
Grote’s kill made it 6-3, Rury’s cross-court rocket put the Indians ahead 7-3, and Jensen’s ace gave Burroughs an 8-3 lead.
The Indians raced in front 11-5 on Sullivan’s ace, and 13-6 on Ryan’s smash. It ballooned to 16-8 on Paster’s kill, and consecutive service aces from Ryan gave the Indians a 21-8 advantage.
Burroughs outscored Hoover, 4-1, to clinch the game and received points on Paster’s block that made it 22-9 and 23-9 on Grote’s kill.
