Revenge proves to be motivating factor for Burroughs boys’ volleyball
Burroughs High’s volleyball team was fired up and focused on defeating Oak Park on Saturday afternoon.
HUNTINGTON BEACH — Revenge can be a dangerous, if not highly-motivating factor.
In the aftermath of a 3-2 CIF Southern Section Division II loss to Oak Park on May 21 , a singular thought crystallized for many members of the Burroughs High boys’ volleyball team: revenge.
The second-seeded Indians certainly got their opportunity when they matched up with No. 1 Oak Park in Saturday afternoon’s CIF Southern California Regional Division II championship match at Edison High.
It was the Eagles who denied Burroughs a chance to win the program’s first-ever CIF Southern Section championship via a 25-20, 18-25, 25-16, 24-26, 15-8 win at Cerritos College.
“We were heading into that CIF championship very confident and then it went five sets and we lost,” senior setter Ryan Van Loo said. “This whole week we practiced with one goal, which was to get back to Saturday and get revenge. Nothing was going to stop us.”
Van Loo played a huge role Saturday afternoon, finishing with 47 assists and six kills in the Indians’ 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21 victory, which clinched the program’s first-ever SoCal Regional title.
Pacific League champion Burroughs concluded the season with a 31-6 record, with no victory tasting sweeter than the final one.
“It feels so great to win and to get a second chance,” Van Loo said. “We were a different team this weekend compared to last Saturday.”
Against Oak Park at Cerritos College, the Indians showed a late penchant for comebacks, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to force a fifth game.
This time around, though, Burroughs didn’t wait until it was on the brink of elimination to fight back.
The Indians trailed nearly the entire first set before rallying for a 23-22 lead and eventual 25-23 victory on a block from senior middle blocker Bailey Carter.
“It feels great to win,” said Carter, who finished with six kills. “We wanted to win, that was the game plan since the beginning of the year, but to face these guys again, it was a gift. We practiced harder and wanted this even more.”
Oak Park did not roll over and instead took advantage of uncharacteristic errors in the second set from the Indians, including a rare rotation violation, to respond with a 25-21 win to pull even at 1.
“I know I’ve said this a few times already, but we really did just reset and refocus,” said Burroughs senior outside hitter Andrew D’Almada, who finished with 19 kills. “If there was a difference this time, maybe it’s just that we were a little more focused. We wanted to really beat these guys.”
At times this week, focus had been an issue for Burroughs.
The squad should have probably lost to seventh-seeded Los Angeles City Section Division II champion Chatsworth before rallying for a 21-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-19, 15-12 victory Tuesday evening in Burbank.
“I think this [win] just confirms this even more,” Burroughs Coach Joel Brinton said. “On Tuesday night, we got lucky because we were still thinking about Oak Park. I think that that ‘revenge’ was just focus and that focus played into the ability to follow the game plan after Tuesday.”
On Thursday, with graduation scheduled two hours after the Indians’ 5 p.m. semifinal start time against Sanger, Burroughs showed a razor-sharp focus lacking against Chatsworth.
Burroughs needed only 65 minutes to defeat Sanger, 25-15, 25-19, 25-16, before heading to graduation and then turning over all its focus to defeating Oak Park.
“We got lucky to get a second chance against the same team,” Capili said. “To get revenge, that was the plan.”
So when Oak Park punched back and tied Saturday’s contest at 1, the Indians didn’t falter.
Rather, they stuck together and stuck to the script and rallied for victories in the last two sets by scores of 25-23 and 25-21.
The final kill led to a raucous cheer and a release of emotion for a team that harnessed its desire for revenge into an unbeatable focus.
“It was the same game plan as last week, nothing changed,” Carter said. “We just were a lot more focused and executed. We played like a championship team.”
