Burroughs volleyball turns up heat against Burbank
BURBANK — There was a buzz surrounding the Burbank High boys’ volleyball team that this might finally be the season.
Having notched 10 wins before April, being tied for 10th in the latest CIF Southern Section Division II poll and coming off a productive showing in the competitive Cerritos Valley Christian Tournament in which they reached the semifinals, the Bulldogs were looking to finally break a streak of futility against cross-town Burroughs.
But the Indians came into Friday’s evening’s match with an impressive Pacific League pedigree that includes eight straight league championships and a lengthy league winning streak.
Burroughs retained its dominance against its rival with a lopsided performance. The Indians hit on all cylinders in the opening game and decimated the Bulldogs, who were never able to recover in a 25-5, 25-11, 25-18 loss at Burroughs in a battle for first place.
The win leaves Burroughs (9-5, 5-0 in league) as the Pacific League’s lone undefeated squad. The victory was also the Indians’ 58th in a row in league, a string that dates back to 2013.
In addition, it was also Burroughs’ 13th straight win against Burbank (10-4, 4-1) since the Bulldogs revived their program in 2012.
“What happened in that first game, it’s been awhile since we had something like that happen to us as a team,” Indians coach Joel Brinton said. “But kudos to Burbank, after those first two games, they were able to pick it up in that third game to give us a little battle.
“I think we just got lucky the first couple of sets. I have to give credit to our guys for serving tough and that’s something that we practice every day. I don’t think we were surprised with the level that we played with today.”
The Indians received a fine effort from Cole Kaitz, who had a match-high 17 kills. Diago Rosal added 10 kills, Sam Tipton had 16 digs, Michael Rumfola added 13 digs and Jose Solano had 27 assists.
The first game was a boon for Burroughs and a disaster for Burbank. The game was tied at 1 and the Indians outscored the Bulldogs, 24-4, the rest of the way — including tallying the final seven points of the set. Burbank committed 15 unforced errors in the opening game.
“We just tried to look at this as another game because everyone always hypes it up so much because it’s a cross-town rivalry,” Kaitz said. “Every game is just as important as this one.
“We just wanted to make them scared of us in that first set and I think we did a pretty good job at that.”
Burbank tried to recover in the second game, beginning with a 3-1 lead. But Burroughs quickly turned things around, embarking on a 14-0 run to enjoy a 15-3 advantage. The Bulldogs, who had just three kills in the frame, could not turn the tide, as the Indians closed out the game to go in front, 2-0.
“Everything was just off today; serving was off, hitting was off, communication was off,” Burbank coach Karl Rojo said. “The setter-middle game for us was bad and our hits were just atrocious and off and we just couldn’t find a rhythm. And when we did find some rhythm, we just killed it by serving into the net.
“This is one of the games I just hate coaching. It’s always intense and we always hype it up … they just get in in their heads from the beginning of the week and that’s the only team they want to focus on and play.”
The third game featured 12 ties until the Indians went in front, 17-16, when a Burbank attack attempt went wide. Burroughs ended the game on an 8-2 run to secure the victory.
Rory Rickey led Burbank with seven kills.
Twitter: @jefftsports
