Tag Archives: Connor Burroughs

Burroughs Boys Volleyball Has Season End On Sweep By Mission Viejo

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By Rick Assad

 

A mere six points separated the Burroughs High boys’ volleyball team from knocking off Mission Viejo in a CIF Southern Section Division II second-round playoff match on Thursday night.

But hitting errors and service miscues were simply too much to overcome as the visiting Diablos earned a 28-26, 28-26, 26-24 victory.

In the opening set, the Indians were ahead 13-7 which forced Mission Viejo, which now owns an 11-match winning streak, to ask for time.

This is the third consecutive year that Burroughs, which captured its 10th straight Pacific League title, has fallen in the second round.

Luke Kvarda rises to the occasion for Burroughs, which fell to Mission Viejo in a CIF second-round match. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

The Indians committed 19 service errors across three sets and had 17 service mistakes and hitting errors in the opening set which helped their undoing.

“We preach learning and we didn’t learn,” Burroughs coach Joel Brinton said. “So all year we’ve had an issue with finishing sets. So when we’re up 24-22, you better finish the set, especially in a playoff game.”

Burroughs’ lead swelled to 16-9 when junior middle blocker Troy Outwater and sophomore opposite hitter Kade McGovern teamed up on a block.

The Indians darted in front 17-10 on a kill from junior outside hitter Connor Burroughs.

Mission Viejo (24-5 and 8-0 in the Sea View League) outscored the Indians 9-2 and evened it at 19-19.

But the Indians (20-13 and 11-1 in league) bulled ahead 20-19 on a winner from Burroughs.

Kade McGovern tallied eight kills for the Indians, who lost to the Diablos in three sets. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

Mission Viejo knotted it at 20-20 on a spike from senior opposite hitter Andrew Kim, who led the way for the Diablos with 19 kills, five digs and two blocks.

A tapper from Burroughs put the Indians in front 23-22 as Mission Viejo asked for a stoppage in play.

Another blast from Burroughs, who had a match-best 22 kills, handed the Indians a 24-22 edge.

One more point would secure the first set, but Kim’s kill sliced the lead to 24-23 and when Burroughs delivered a mishit, it was tied at 24-24.

The Indians weren’t done as they led 25-24 on a kill from McGovern (eight kills) only to see the Diablos level it at 25-25 on a service error by Burroughs.

After Mission Viejo moved in front 26-25 on McGovern’s mishit, the Indians tied it at 26-26 on a service error by senior setter Everado Castillo, who had three aces and three digs.

When sophomore libero Cole Kvarda’s serve hit the net it became 27-26 and Kim’s winner sewed up the game for Mission Viejo.

Connor Burroughs finished with a match-high 22 kills for the Indians. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

“We’re a team and whether we’re up by seven or down by seven we have confidence that we can always come through,” Mission Viejo coach Ryan Thurlow said. “There’s 10 seniors here. This is our year to do it. We just started to settle in and pass the volleyball. It’s a very tough place to play. Especially initially. This is a great, great program that they [Burroughs] run.”

The second game was knotted at 2-2 on an ace from senior Caleb Parham (five kills and one block).

It was tied at 4-4 on senior Chad Carter’s errant serve and 6-6 when Burroughs hit the net.

Mission Viejo settled in and led 11-7 on back-to-back winners from Kim. The Diablos moved ahead 13-9 on a tapper from Carter (two digs and two kills).

The Indians then outscored the Diablos 5-1 and tied it at 14-14 on a kill from Burroughs.

A service ace from sophomore setter Carter Cottrell made it 15-14, but it was deadlocked at 15-15 on a mishit from Cottrell.

Mission Viejo dashed in front 20-18 as the Indians, who swept Notre Dame in the opening round on Tuesday, asked for a break in the action.

Sam Tipton, who had 16 digs, makes a valiant effort to save the ball. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

It was knotted at 22-22 on a kill from Kim and when senior Colin O’Brien (six kills and five blocks) tossed in a stuff, the Diablos moved ahead 23-22.

It was tied at 23-23 on McGovern’s spike.

It was even at 24-24 on a kill from Burroughs and level at 25-25 on a tapper from senior outside hitter Luke Kvarda.

Kim’s laser made it 26-25, Kim’s winner pushed Mission Viejo’s advantage to 27-26 and when Kim added one final dagger, the Diablos grabbed the second set.

“There are two words that I tell my guys and everything in life and that’s clutch up,” Thurlow said. “You gotta know that you want the ball. The difference tonight was we wanted the ball when it was 25-25. We wanted to pass it. We wanted to serve it and we wanted to spike it.”

The Diablos seized control 4-1 in the third frame when a hit from Burroughs went out of bounds as the Indians asked for time.

Mission Viejo forged ahead 9-5 on a block from Parham and it became 10-6 on Kim’s kill. The Indians inched within 12-9 on a blast from Burroughs and 14-11 on McGovern’s dagger.

When Kim’s rocket sailed out of bounds, the Indians drew within 14-13 as the Diablos requested time.

O’Brien’s tapper gave Mission Viejo a 15-13 cushion, but the Indians then raced ahead 20-18 on Kim’s mishit.

Kim had consecutive winners that evened it at 20-20, but a hammer from senior middle blocker Jagger Green (seven kills) leveled it at 21-21.

“I think we beat ourselves up a lot,” said senior libero Sam Tipton, who had 16 digs. “Even when we’re up by one, up by two, I think we’re always in control, but it’s either we don’t make a pass for ourselves or that our sets are too far out. I think it’s the errors. We had about 45 unforced errors. A lot of those came later in the games.”

Tipton, who will attend Grand Canyon University and try to walk-on, added: “I think it comes down to self discipline,” he said. “Especially later in the game, I think we played out of character. We preach high, hard and deep and then we saw them swinging really low.”

Kim’s blast made it 22-21 and Outwater’s winner leveled it at 23-23. The Indians squared it at 24-24 on a kill from Burroughs.

The final two points came on a tapper from Parham and a kill from Kim that sealed the game and match.

Senior setter Steven Grandinetti finished with 24 assists for the Indians.

Burroughs Boys Volleyball Takes Care of Notre Dame

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The Burroughs High boys’ volleyball team didn’t get the easiest of draws in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs.

But the Indians didn’t get rattled by the fact that they were playing Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, a private school that draws many students from Burbank.

Burroughs fought off a tough challenge by the visiting Knights and came away 25-21, 27-25, 25-23 winners.

“We’ve worked really hard up to this point and it is paying off as we can see in these games. We’re just happy to keep it going. We’re all striving to prolong our season and we’re going hard at it,” said Burroughs sophomore star outside hitter Kade McGovern, who had 10 kills.

Burroughs will host Mission Viejo Thursday in a second round match at 6 p.m.

Burroughs coach Joel Brinton said his team, which improved to 20-12, accomplished what it set out to do.

“The guys played well. We executed some things that we wanted to. I think our middles did a really good job to start and set the tone at the beginning of the match. When any team is able to do that, it’s going to pretty good,” Brinton said.

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

With a young team, Brinton, who has coached the Indians to 10 consecutive Pacific League titles, said preparation for postseason isn’t easy.

“I keep talking to them – it’s the playoffs. When it is on the line, they’re (opponents are) going to play harder and harder. We need to find a way to play crisper and crisper,” he said.

The match was tight throughout.

Burroughs got a big point in the first game when Jagger Green put down a kill to make it 15-11, which was enough for Notre Dame to call a timeout. Green finished with nine kills.

Notre Dame led 6-4 in the second game, but Burroughs came right back. Although the Indians were never in total command, they clearly had more confidence.

The Knights had a chance to tie things up late by taking a 25-24 lead. But Burroughs got a kill from Green to tie things up again. Following a Notre Dame error, McGovern served up an ace to give Burroughs a 2-0 cushion.

Burroughs carried the momentum into the third game, as Connor Burroughs who finished with a team-high 11 kills, got things started.

Notre Dame (23-12-1) fought back and tied things up at 14. But Burroughs would not be denied.

“They fought hard and brought energy on every play,” said Notre Dame sophomore Nicholas Tidik, who lives in Burbank and is committed to Pepperdine.

Tidik’s father, Michael, is in the Burroughs Athletic Hall of Fame.

Burroughs got 25 assists from Carter Cottrell and 22 digs from Sam Tipton.

Burroughs Boys Volleyball Beats Burbank, Wins League Title Again

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The biggest question many wondered Tuesday night was how the Burroughs High boys’ volleyball team would bounce back from its first league loss since 2013, as the Indians fell on the road last week at Arcadia.

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

Although they weren’t consistent throughout, the Indians did enough to earn a Pacific League title for a tenth straight season with a 25-12, 25-22, 25-13 win over visiting Burbank High.
“All teams face adversity in season. Teams aren’t judged by their wins but how they come back from their losses,” said Burroughs 6-foot-4 sophomore Kade McGovern, who had a match-high 16 kills. “I think we did a good job of that tonight.”

Burroughs (19-12 overall, 11-1 in league), came out strong in the first game.

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

Burbank tied the Indians for just one point, as Luca Bily served an ace to make it 4-4.
But the Indians fought right back and won the first game with relative ease.

“Establishing the middle at the start was a huge thing for us. That’s what we talked about that we wanted to do,” Burroughs Coach Joel Brinton said. “That allowed Connor (Burroughs) and Kade to hit well the rest of the game. Our attacking was vastly improved from where it was against Arcadia.”

Burbank (15-11, 7-5) put forth a fine effort in the second game. The Bulldogs led 13-10 following a kill from Dylan Viyar. Burbank also led 16-13, before Burroughs fought back to get on level terms.
McGovern served up an ace to make it 17-17.

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

Troy Outwater had a kill to give Burroughs a 21-20 lead and helped make it 22-20 with a block.
Jagger Green finished off the game with a kill.

“We’re trying to build that culture of a never gives up mentality, that fighting mentality,” Burbank coach Karl Rojo said. “That’s what I want these kids to act like when they’re playing on the floor. We had it in the second and we kind of lost it with our unforced errors and hitting mistakes in the third. You have to give it to Burroughs. They did serve tough and hit pretty well.”

(Photo by Ross A Benson)

Burbank took a 4-3 lead in the third game on an ace from Chase Marcy.
But McGovern had kills on the next two points to help push the Indians back in front for good.
“We talked about it as a group. That streak doesn’t matter. None of them were here for that,” Brinton said. “The streak that mattered was getting a league championship this year and keeping that streak. We learned a lot from it and I think we made some steps in the right direction today.”

Burroughs received nine kills from Connor Burroughs. Carter Cottrell had 27 assists, Sam Tipton had 12 digs and Green had seven kills.

Bily led the Bulldogs with five kills. Viyar added three kills for Burbank. Jason Kwon had eight assists.

Burroughs Boys Volleyball Runs Past Burbank

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The bar that has been set for the Burroughs High boys’ volleyball team is high enough that even a win over rival Burbank isn’t anywhere close to the top of the Indians’ goals.

Friday evening nine-time defending Pacific League champion Burroughs looked solid for much of the match against the host Bulldogs and came away with a 25-14, 25-21, 25-20 victory.

But coach Joel Brinton knows what it is capable of, even if the results are not reflective of it.

“I”m happy that we figured out a way to win without playing our best. That’s about it. You can put that in the paper,” said Brinton. “Our kids who have been amazing for the past week, struggled a little bit tonight. It was awesome to see as a team that the middles had their back and the middles did a good job.”
Burroughs (11-6 overall, 6-0 in the league) lost the first point of the match on a kill by Burbank’s Chase Marcy.

But it was mostly Burroughs the rest of the way.

The Indians then went on a 7-0 run led by a pair of kills from Troy Outwater.

“I thought it was a fun match to coach. We started off a little bit slow in the first set with our serving and our plays. Maybe the crowd ambiance got to our heads,” Burbank coach Karl Rojo said. “We started to collect ourselves a little bit better in the second and third. I thought the receive was improving, the hits were slightly improving and the effort overall improved in the second and third. Our serving didn’t help. I’ve been drilling it in their heads that we’ve got to make our serves and to keep it tough and not make it easy.”

Burroughs closed out the first set on a pair of kills from junior Connor Burroughs, who had a match-high 13 kills.

Burbank led 7-3 to start the second game before Burroughs came back to tie things at 10.
The Indians took the lead for good at 11-10 on a block by Connor Burroughs.

Burroughs finished off the second game with a kill from sophomore Kade McGovern, who had nine for the match.

The Indians led from start to finish in the third and final game, even though the Bulldogs were never far behind.

Burroughs got 10 kills from Jagger Green and seven from Outwater. Steven Grandinetti had 25 assists.
Marcy led Burbank with eight kills. Jack Raytis had four kills. Brandon Villaflor had 14 digs.

 

Burroughs, Burbank Boys Volleyball Reaching For Big Prize

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By Rick Assad

 

Expectations are usually high for the Burroughs High and Burbank boys’ volleyball teams when it comes to the Pacific League race and beyond.

The Indians have captured the league title nine straight seasons, so naturally a 10th is a goal along with advancing far in the CIF Southern Section tournament.

“I think we have a good group of learners,” longtime Burroughs coach Joel Brinton said. “They show up to practice every day. They work hard. They’re open to the feedback. They want to be critiqued. They want to be coached.”

Brinton knows that nothing is ever given, but can rely on two strengths. “Even though we have a lot of seniors, we also have a lot of youth,” he noted. “I hope it will be our serving and our passing. I want our serving and passing to be our rocks.”

Junior outside hitter Connor Burroughs is a leader and offensive weapon for the Indians. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

The Bulldogs made the playoffs and despite not winning the league title, also have serious designs on the prize.

Burroughs opened its season with a sweep of visiting South Pasadena, but lost at Palos Verdes.

The Indians bounced back with a sweep over Culver City in the Redondo Tournament, but dropped matches to Newbury Park, Redondo Union, Peninsula and Loyola.

“The guys have to understand that there’s nothing ever given. Everything is earned,” Brinton said of being the defending league champion.

Burroughs began its league season on Wednesday with a three-game shutout at Glendale and will play at Burbank on March 29 and then host the Bulldogs on April 23.

Senior middle hitter Dawson Koerper, shown in a recent match, will be a steady contributor for the Bulldogs. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

In any given match, the Burroughs’ offensive leaders will vary, but one that will always be at or near the top, is junior outside hitter Connor Burroughs.

Senior libero Sam Tipton will also have eyes on him and though a sophomore, setter Carter Cottrell is also vital.

There are eight seniors and aside from Tipton, includes outside hitter Luke Kvarda, outside/opposite hitter Evan Troncoso, middle/outside hitter Rickey Kahlon, setter Steven Grandinetti, outside hitter Caleb Reyes, middle hitter Jagger Green and middle hitter Louis Zekowski.

Sophomore setter Carter Cottrell will be a key cog for the Indians. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

Other members includes junior middle hitter Ellington Simmons, junior outside hitter Malek Sadi and junior middle hitter Troy Outwater.

The rest are sophomore libero/outside hitter Cole Kvarda, sophomore middle hitter Shay Thornton and sophomore outside/opposite hitter Kade McGovern.

The Bulldogs, who began their campaign with a loss at Harvard-Westlake, rebounded with victories over Hart and Viewpoint, are primed for a successful season with senior outside/opposite hitter Chase Marcy leading the way.

Karl Rojo, the Burbank coach, likes what he has to work with. “Take it day-by-day and make sure we improve by two percent every day,” he said. “They need to focus on the effort and not worry about results.”

Senior setter Brandon Villaflor gets the Bulldogs’ offense in motion. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

Rojo then continued: “They need to play with maximum effort every time. Their goals are playing well consistently, trying to knock off the big three [Burroughs, Crescenta Valley and Arcadia] and go as far as we can in the CIF,” he noted.

Senior opposite hitter Jack Raytis will also be asked to lead while senior setter Brandon Villaflor will get the ball to the hitters.

Senior middle blocker Kalam Park will have a key role as will senior Ryan Rickey for the Bulldogs, who begin their league trek with a match against visiting Hoover on Feb. 28.

The other seniors include opposite/middle blocker Luca Bily, middle hitter Dawson Koerper, setter Jason Kwon, libero Ryan Mehta, defensive specialist Minkyu Shin, middle blocker Kalam Park, opposite/outside hitter Dylan Vigar and outside hitter Nathan Mehta.

Also on the squad are junior defensive specialist Joe Gomez, junior outside hitter Kourosh Dolatshahi, junior middle blocker Eric Galoustian and sophomore outside/opposite hitter Jonathan Coleman.

Burroughs Boys Volleyball Eases By South Pasadena In Season Opener

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By Rick Assad

 

Sometimes a season opener can go sideways and turn out poorly, which isn’t the way to commence a campaign.

This didn’t happen for the Burroughs High boys’ volleyball team which needed only 68 minutes in order to sweep visiting South Pasadena in a nonleague battle.

The Indians have been the gold standard in the Pacific League, winning nine straight banners, and though not in midseason form, they were good enough to emerge with a win, 25-18, 25-13, 25-17 over the Tigers on Wednesday afternoon.

Louis Zekowski rises high off the floor and is about to smash the ball in a three-game sweep of South Pasadena. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

Junior outside hitter Connor Burroughs laid the ground work after tallying a match-high 16 kills with four of the Indians’ 11 aces.

“I thought there were some good things in that first set that were crisp, but there were kind of the usual first game of the year things that we have to get out of the way,” Burroughs coach Joel Brinton said. “I thought we set the tone in the first game in what we wanted to do and it was nice in the second set that our serving took over the game.”

Brinton then went on: “We’ve got a lot of good guys out there,” he noted. “So they’re going to approach it the right way. There weren’t a lot of learning opportunities out there, hence the time out.”

Brinton asked for stoppage when the Tigers came within 21-15 in the first set, but the Indians rallied and held their ground and captured the initial frame.

Sophomore setter Carter Cottrell is about to pass the ball against the Tigers. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

The third set was knotted at 2-2 before the Indians steamed ahead 7-4 on an ace from sophomore outside hitter/opposite hitter Kade McGovern (nine kills).

McGovern added a spike to make it 8-6 and senior middle hitter Jagger Green collected two blocks that gave the Indians a 10-6 margin.

A stuff from Burroughs handed the Indians a 13-8 advantage and when McGovern added a winner, the lead stretched to 14-8.

McGovern’s kill extended the lead to 16-10 and a spike from junior middle hitter Ellington Simmons pushed the cushion to 16-11.

When Burroughs added a kill, the Indians surged ahead 20-13 and an ace from sophomore setter Carter Cottrell (31 assists) made it 22-14 as South Pasadena asked for a time.

Kade McGovern delivered nine kills for the Indians in a season-opening win. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

Junior outside hitter Malek Sadi’s rocket made it 23-14 and when senior outside hitter/opposite hitter Evan Trancoso tossed in a kill, the set and match was over.

In the opening game, the Indians dashed ahead 4-2 on a blast from junior middle hitter Troy Outwater and when Cottrell contributed an ace, the lead expanded to 5-2. A service winner from Burroughs pushed the advantage to 8-3 for the Indians.

Senior outside hitter Luke Kvarda’s kill extended the lead to 9-4 and back-to-back service aces from Outwater made it 11-4.

McGovern’s dagger and a tapper from Burroughs supplied the Indians with a 14-6 lead as the Tigers requested a stoppage in play.

Connor Burroughs set the tone offensively for the Indians with a match-high 16 kills. (Photo by Ross A. Benson)

Consecutive kills from Burroughs saw the Indians dash in front 16-9 and when Outwater added a laser and senior libero Sam Tipton (six digs) contributed an ace, the lead swelled to 18-9.

A block and a kill from Burroughs then handed the Indians a 21-11 cushion and a kill from senior middle hitter/outside hitter Ricky Kahlon made it 21-15 as the Tigers asked for time.

Burroughs then outscored South Pasadena 4-3, including the clinching kill by McGovern.

The middle game saw the Indians burst ahead 5-3 on a service winner from Cottrell. An Outwater kill made it 8-6 and a spike from Burroughs gave the Indians a 9-7 cushion.

McGovern’s ace put the Indians in front 10-7 and another service winner by Kvarda pushed the lead to 13-9.

A taper from Burroughs gave the Indians a 15-10 edge, McGovern’s dagger extended it to 17-11 and a Burroughs bullet saw the Indians glide ahead 18-12.

Consecutive service aces by Burroughs saw the Indians draw ahead 22-12. A combined block by Outwater and Sadi made it 23-12, a Burroughs kill stretched the Indians’ edge to 24-12 and Sadi’s winner made it a two games to none lead.

Burroughs Boys Volleyball Top Santa Monica in CIF Opening Round

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By Rick Assad

 

You could say the relatively easy match for the Burroughs High boys’ volleyball team came when it hammered visiting Santa Monica 25-18, 29-27, 25-12 in a CIF Southern Section Division I opening-round clash on Tuesday.

Now the hard part comes when the Indians, who have captured the Pacific League title nine straight seasons and were the regional state champions in 2016, have to face Loyola in the second round on Thursday.

Senior outside hitter Diego Rosal, shown in a recent match with Burbank, had nine kills in a CIF opening-round sweep of Santa Monica. Photo By: Edward Tovmassian

“It was huge. We didn’t play our best,” Burroughs coach Joel Brinton said of the middle set. “The season now boils down to winning three sets.”

The second game could have swung either way after being knotted 15 times including 23-23 on a kill from sophomore middle blocker Connor Burroughs.

At this point, each team had difficulty getting its serve over the net as it became 25-25 when Santa Monica’s Ryan Logan’s serve found the net and 27-27 on Burroughs senior outside hitter Diego Rosal’s service miscue.

“We were fortunate tonight. We’re going to have to play our best match,” Brinton said of this encounter which will likely be much easier than facing the Cubs.

In the end, the Indians took command on a tapper from senior opposite hitter Cole Kaitz that made it 28-27.

When Kaitz (match-best 18 kills) delivered a spike, Burroughs (19-8 and 12-0 in league) led two games to none.

The Indians, including Cole Kaitz (#32), Sam Tipton (#1) and Jose Solano, shown in a win at Burbank, played well against the Vikings. Photo By: Edward Tovmassian

The Indians evened the second game at 3-3 on a bullet from junior outside hitter Michael Rumfola and 8-8 on Burroughs’ blast.

Santa Monica’s Ryan Rooke leveled it 14-14 with a kill and it was deadlocked at 18-18 on Kaitz’s winner.

Though the match-clinching set was tight in the early stages after being tied 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, and 6-6,  a winner from Rosal (nine kills) made it 7-6.

Junior libero Sam Tipton, who contributed 10 digs, then served three straight aces to make it 10-6.

What followed was a 5-3 mini-blitz that pushed the advantage to 15-9 and included a tapper from Kaitz.

When Kaitz served an ace, the Indians’ lead swelled to 19-11 which prompted the Vikings (15-10-2) to call for time.

The Indians went on another patented run, this time 6-1 that included Kaitz’s dagger for a 20-12 edge and a block from Burroughs that made it 22-12. The next three points came on Viking hitting errors.

Brinton said that the expectations are high, but that’s a good thing. “Now it’s on them to continue that,” he said of the current squad. “I hope these guys like being the hunted during league. The pressure’s on them [Loyola]. Let’s see if they [Burroughs] can do it.”

The initial game saw the Vikings jump off to a 4-2 lead when George Felstiner tossed in a kill, but the Indians tied it at 6-6 on an ace from freshman outside hitter Kade McGovern.

Felstiner’s dagger evened it at 11-11 and 12-12, only to see the Indians pull ahead 18-16 on Kaitz’s bomb.

When Kaitz added a kill the Indians trotted ahead 21-16 and then led 23-18 on Rosal’s winner and 24-18 on another rocket from Rosal.

Senior outside hitter/opposite hitter Azael Estrada’s winner gave the Indians the set.

For good measure, senior setter Jose Solano added a match-best 28 assists for the Indians.

Burroughs Boys Volleyball Needs Four Sets To Defeat Host Burbank

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By Rick Assad

 

It wasn’t as lopsided as the first time the Burroughs High boys’ volleyball team faced Burbank.

Still the end result was the same, but instead of a three-game sweep, the Indians needed four games in order to stifle the host Bulldogs on Thursday night.

Behind the overall play of Cole Kaitz, who had a match-best 21 kills, the Indians prevailed 25-15, 20-25, 27-25, 25-22, in a Pacific League match and remain undefeated.

“We just try to look at every game like it’s the same game,” Kaitz said. “Every game is the same to me. So just because it’s the crosstown rivalry, it doesn’t really mean much to us. It’s just another game. Another opponent. I’ve played these guys already four years in a row.”

Diego Rosal (#4) rises up and unloads a winner for the Indians, who defeated the host Bulldogs in four sets. Photo By: Edward Tovmassian

Burroughs won its ninth consecutive league banner, stretched its league match streak to 64 victories and has knocked off Burbank 14 matches in a row.

“Last time we got lucky because they couldn’t pass. We knew it wasn’t going to be the same thing,” Burroughs coach Joel Brinton said. “Trying to convince a group of teenagers of that is hard at times.”

Brinton said the Bulldogs put up a good fight.

“Losing that set probably was a really good thing to wake us up,” he noted. “Getting the battle that we got. It’s what we want our league to become. A slugfest. Burbank made us do that. They passed really well. They played great defense all night.”

The third set was tied on 12 occasions including 24-24 on a kill from Burbank’s senior outside hitter Jonathan Ragheb, who finished with nine kills.

Burbank’s Ryan Rickey (#27) passes during Thursday’s match against Burroughs. Photo By: Edward Tovmassian

Senior setter Brian Valmonte (41 assists) served an ace for the Bulldogs that made it 25-24, but his net serve evened it at 25-25.

After a net violation gave the Indians (17-8 and 11-0 in league) a 26-25 cushion, Azael Estrada’s block secured the game for Burroughs.

Valmonte’s spike evened it at 4-4, but the Indians’ Connor Burroughs’ winner made it 8-8.

The Indians, who took out the Bulldogs 25-5, 25-11, 25-18 on March 30, moved in front 14-11 on Kaitz’s hammer and it became 17-15 on another bullet from Kaitz, who added three blocks.

The Bulldogs (15-6 and 9-2 in league) then went on a 6-2 run that made it 21-19 and included a kill from junior outside hitter Ryan Rickey (five kills).

“I wanted them to go out there and be aggressive,” Burbank coach Karl Rojo said. “Not be so timid and shy at the service line or when you’re out there swinging. I think we did a pretty good job of staying aggressive in our attacks and service.”

Burroughs and Burbank passed the ball well in a Pacific League match. Photo By: Edward Tovmassian

Despite the setback, Rojo liked what he saw.

“There’s definitely been a lot of improvement shown since we last played them,” he said. “We were able to get more hitters involved.”

The deciding set was tied 16 times including 22-22 on a dagger by Kaitz.

A kill from Kaitz made it 23-22 as the Bulldogs asked for time out.

Kaitz’s stuff pushed the Indians’ advantage to 24-22 and Kaitz then topped off his evening with a smash for the set and match.

Burroughs darted ahead 5-4 on a service ace from Jose Solano (33 assists and 16 digs) and leveled it at 10-10 on Kaitz’s spike.

A block from Jagger Green pushed the Indians’ lead to 12-10, but the Bulldogs outscored Burroughs 5-3 and tied it at 15-15 on Ragheb’s rocket.

The initial set was a bit more one-sided as the Indians took control 3-0 on an ace from Michael Rumfola and were never headed.

Michael Rumfola (#16) and Jagger Green (#20) ready for a block. Photo By: Edward Tovmassian

The advantage became 8-4 on Rumfola’s kill and 14-7 on Diego Rosal’s winner.

Burbank came within 16-10 on a kill from senior middle blocker Rory Rickey (14 kills).

Burroughs seized control 22-13 on Kaitz’s bomb and snatched the set on a spike from Rumfola.

Burbank’s best set was the second as it led 5-2 on an ace from Ryan Rickey.

The Indians evened it at 10-10 on a blast from Rosal (10 kills), but the Bulldogs darted ahead 12-11 on junior opposite hitter Luca Bily’s bomb.

The Indians drew within 16-14 on a service winner from Rosal, but the Bulldogs went on a 5-4 spurt and led 21-18 on a kill from Ryan Rickey as Burroughs asked for a time out.

A 4-2 explosion by the Bulldogs and a kill from Ryan Rickey evened the match at one game apiece.

Sam Tipton contributed 16 digs for the Indians, while senior libero Eddie Curren tossed in 12 digs for the Bulldogs.