Burbank boys’ volleyball opens league with win against Arcadia
BURBANK — Burbank High’s boys’ volleyball team opened Pacific League play Tuesday afternoon with a dominant performance in the first two games against Arcadia.
The Bulldogs were in such complete control in the first two games that Arcadia never led in the two frames and was only able to tie the score twice, the latest coming at three-all in the second.
But a combination of the Apaches playing better and Burbank struggling allowed Arcadia to roar back to win the third game.
Fortunately for the Bulldogs they were able to bounce back to take the fourth game and close out Arcadia, 25-10, 25-13, 18-25, 25-19, at Burbank High.
“We started working on some different stuff in the third set and the feedback we got from our performance is that we’re not ready to explore some of those things right now,” said Burbank Coach Patrick McMenamin, whose team improved to 5-3. “Arcadia was able to come alive in that third set and give a lot of credit to them for that.
“But I’m proud of our boys for being problem solvers on the court, figuring things out in that fourth set and finding a way to win.”
If last year’s league play is any indication, Arcadia (1-2) and Burbank will likely be battling it out for automatic playoff spots. Last season, the Bulldogs swept the Apaches and placed third in league, just one match ahead of fourth-place Arcadia.
“During the first round of league, there’s no doubt that messages are being sent and received between teams,” McMenamin said. “There was a message today that we played two very good sets, but we had a problem in that third. That means we have to go back and work on some things.”
Burbank was led by Brandon Alba, who had 12 kills, while Aram Krakirian added eight and Jonathan Tapan contributed 36 assists.
The Bulldogs were able to take advantage of some Arcadia errors to jump out to an early lead in the opening game. Burbank surged out to an eight-point lead, 11-3, helped by six Apaches unforced errors. Burbank played well in the rest of the way in the first game and cruised to the win.
It was much of the same in the second game after Arcadia tied the score, 3-3, following a block from Ryan Sue. Burbank took the lead and had only a two-point cushion, 9-7. But the Bulldogs went on a 7-2 run to seize control and increased their lead thereafter.
That momentum didn’t carry over to the third game, however. The Apaches jumped out to an 11-6 advantage, bolstered by nine Burbank unforced errors, while Arcadia had just two at that point. The Bulldogs couldn’t get closer than two points the rest of the frame.
“We started to play more complacent in that third game and I think that really hurt us,” Alba said. “We really have to stay focused throughout all of the game and we can’t let down in any of them.”
The fourth game was close early on, as Burbank took a four-point lead, 14-10, on an Arcadia net violation. But the Apaches embarked on a 6-0 run and enjoyed a 16-14 lead. The run was finally halted on a kill by Burbank’s Daniel Ragheb. The Bulldogs stayed close and jumped in front, 20-18, on two consecutive aces by Alba. The Bulldogs closed out the game and the match on a 5-1 run.
