Burroughs girls’ volleyball takes first place for itself
ARCADIA — In each set, the Burroughs High girls’ volleyball team found itself trailing by multiple points during its first-place Pacific League battle against Arcadia on Thursday.
Burroughs fell behind, only to regain traction and deliver perhaps its biggest league victory of the season.
Burroughs received 18 kills from Marin Grote and 16 blocks from Julianna Van Loo to register a 25-25-20, 25-23 win.
Burroughs (18-2, 10-1 in league) now holds a one-match lead over Arcadia (9-3, 9-2) in the standings with each team having three league matches left. Arcadia posted a 25-15, 22-25, 25-19, 25-14 win at Burroughs on Sept. 20.
“It’s two good teams playing out there and you had a high energy level in a noisy gym,” said Burroughs coach Edwin Real, whose team last won a league title in 2015 before Arcadia captured league last season. “Both teams were out there swinging hard and playing with a sense of urgency. We knew that would be the case.
“We seemed to play our best when we were behind and we knew what we had to do. We needed to catch Arcadia and then pass them in order to win. Our players came through at the end of each set.”
Burroughs turned to Grote, who earned All-Area accolades last season, and Van Loo to overcome Arcadia. Plus, the Indians received an excellent effort from Lydia Grote in the third set.
Marin Grote had nine kills in the third set, including a kill inside the right line to clinch the victory. Van Loo had five blocks in the third set and Lydia Grote contributed three consecutive kills to propel the Indians. A kill by Lydia Grote tied it at 17 in the third set. Marin Grote had a kill to make it 23-20. Arcadia closed to within 24-23 on a kill by Hannah Ruiz, forcing Real to call time out. A block by Van Loo and kill by Marin Grote completed the sweep.
“We got behind in each set, so we knew we had to be ready to turn it on,” Marin Grote said. “It was exhilarating to play in a match like this because there was so much energy. We trusted each other.
“We have to be able to play like this [over the next three league matches]. [The league championship] isn’t ours yet.”
The Apaches jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the second set, capped by an ace from Haley Kennedy. Arcadia led, 17-11, before Burroughs went on a 10-2 run to take a 21-19 lead. Marin Grote had three kills in that stretch.
Arcadia pulled to within 21-20, but Burroughs registered four straight points to take a 2-0 lead in sets. Ricki Patenaude had a kill to close out the set.
“We had some good stretches late in each set, but the second one was big,” Van Loo said. “We did a real good job blocking for one another and we had to be there to back each other up. It’s huge to win this match. It was two real good teams that were evenly matched.”
In the first set, Arcadia took a 19-16 lead on an ace from Abigail Martin. Real called timeout, giving the Indians a chance to regroup.
Burroughs closed out on a 9-1 run. Patenaude began the run with a kill and ended it with an ace.
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
