All-Area Boys’ Volleyball Player of the Year: Van Loo enjoys season full of special moments

It could have been a scene out of a surrealist painting.

For Burroughs High senior setter Ryan Van Loo, the vision captured the sacrifice and support associated with his school’s volleyball team.

On May 26, Van Loo and his teammates took on Sanger in the semifinals of the CIF Southern California Boys’ Volleyball Division II playoffs.

As Van Loo went to serve, the 18-year-old looked over his left shoulder and saw quite a sight as between 60-80 fellow seniors were seated in the stands in their graduation caps and gowns. Some students wore leis, while others brought teddy bears and balloons.

Though the accessories varied, the vigor did not, as the throng of about-to-be graduates cheered on the Indians to a 25-15, 25-19, 25-16 victory in a match that ended with less than an hour to go before the school’s scheduled graduation at Memorial Field.

“It was an awesome feeling to be at the game and to have your family and friends supporting you when they probably should have been getting ready for graduation,” Van Loo said. “Sometimes we only think about our sacrifices as players, but that day it was great to see the gym packed. This season wasn’t just for us, but for the school and the Burbank community.”

The quick victory brought about two outcomes.

First, the Indians players gave themselves a few minutes to cool down, then dress up and get ready for graduation.

Secondly, the victory allowed one last opportunity for the Indians, as they earned advancement to the SoCal Championship match two days later.

Had the season concluded versus Sanger, Van Loo would have still turned in an amazing year.

The Division I Lewis University-bound setter was named the Pacific League Player of the Year for a second straight season.

Van Loo, who was selected the team’s captain his sophomore year, was also an All-CIF Southern Section Division II first-team selection after setting a school record with 1,125 assists, while he added 188 digs, 108 kills and 21 aces and had a school record hitting percentage of .518.

Those statistics alone would have been enough for Van Loo to be named the 2016 All-Area Boys’ Volleyball Player of the Year as voted by the sportswriters of the Burbank Leader, Glendale News-Press and La Cañada Valley Sun.

Yet, there was one prize that both defined and drove Van Loo: postseason success.

“Coaching Ryan was unique in that he was unlike any player I have coached before,” said Burroughs Coach Joel Brinton, this year’s All-Area Boys’ Volleyball Coach of the Year. “Of course, that all starts with the fact that he was on varsity for four seasons, but beyond that, he possesses an uncanny ability to immediately apply whatever feedback you give him.

“It doesn’t need to be repeated, he hears and then next rep it is applied.”

To play at Burroughs is to embrace expectations and challenges.

Van Loo and his teammates did that, going 31-6 this season, winning a Pacific League title and advancing to the CIF Southern Section and SoCal Championships, while capturing the school’s first-ever SoCal crown.

Burroughs first extended its league winning streak to 43, while the Indians finished 12-0 in league for a third consecutive undefeated league title and seventh straight crown.

“That streak started my freshman year and it’s great to pass on that legacy,” said Van Loo, referring to the 43-match mark.

Through the run to a league championship, Burroughs ran into two stiff challenges, first against Crescenta Valley and later against archrival Burbank.

Burroughs first powered to a 29-27, 27-25, 22-25, 25-18 victory against host Crescenta Valley on April 6 and then held off the crosstown rival Bulldogs, 25-19, 25-17, 24-26, 24-26, 15-10 on April 28, which clinched the Pacific League crown.

In those matches, Van Loo combined for 86 assists and spread the wealth to seniors Andrew Dalmada, Cameron Capili and Bailey Carter along with junior Conner Ludlum.

“Having played with Ryan for four years, we had amazing chemistry,” Dalmada said. “It was almost like we had a telepathic bond. We knew what the other was going to think and didn’t even have to say anything. Ryan always put the ball in the right spot.”

After clinching the league crown, the Indians were awarded the Division II No. 3 seed in Division II and marched to four straight playoff wins.

Through the four victories, Van Loo combined for 155 assists, including 53 in a second-round win over Long Beach Poly.

The final of those triumphs vaulted Burroughs into the Division II championship at Cerritos College on May 21 versus top-seeded Oak Park.

“That was our goal all season, to get to and win CIF,” Van Loo said. “That was the goal all four years, but we finally did it.”

In a seesaw affair, the Eagles claimed the title via a 25-20, 18-25, 25-16, 24-26, 15-8 win despite an amazing 55 assists and 10 digs from Van Loo.

“That was a tough defeat for everyone, because I don’t think anyone on the team felt like we couldn’t win that game,” Dalmada said. “I’m not taking anything away from Oak Park, but we could have played a lot better.”

A day after the loss, the squad found out its season was not over, as Burroughs was awarded the No. 2 seed in the eight-team, CIF Southern California Boys’ Volleyball Division II state tournament.

With a chance at redemption, the Indians instead played like a team that’s season had already ended as they fell behind, 2-0, against visiting No. 7 Chatsworth in the first round on May 24.

It was going to take a superb effort to wake the team from its slumber and Van Loo obliged.

The senior set a school record with 61 assists, with 34 going to a record-breaking effort from Dalmada, and Burroughs rallied to a 21-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-19, 15-12 victory.

“When you look at the seniors on the team, we’ve been together for four years,” Van Loo said. “Andrew, Cam, Bailey — we have amazing chemistry. When I had that kind of night, it just wasn’t me, but those guys, too.”

The victory set up a peculiar, but not entirely unfamiliar situation for the Indians, who advanced to the May 26 semifinals against third-seeded Sanger on the night of their graduation.

The circumstances somewhat paralleled the team’s Southern Section quarterfinal match against Valencia, in which Burroughs played the Vikings at 2 p.m. on May 14. On that same day, the school held its prom.

The big difference this time around, however, was that the semifinal match was set for 5 p.m. while the graduation was supposed to begin at 7.

“Coming back to win, that was unreal because Chatsworth was a very good team,” Brinton said. “Then our guys were able to work with the plan the administration had put together for the Sanger match and they were just on point the whole way. And after that, we knew there was no more of a worry as far as focus went, because they got the rematch they so desperately wanted with Oak Park.”

Burroughs defeated Sanger, 25-15, 25-19, 25-16 in 65 minutes behind 34 assists from Van Loo to immediately head to graduation and guarantee another match against Oak Park, which had also punched its ticket to the SoCal Final.

“All we thought the whole week was revenge, revenge, revenge,” Van Loo said. “It almost cost us against Chatsworth, but to get another chance was awesome.”

Exactly a week after the Indians suffered an agonizing loss, they didn’t bury their disappointment, but embraced it in facing Oak Park in the SoCal Division II championship at Edison High on May 28.

“We knew we were the better team, but made mistakes the first time,” Dalmada said. “When we saw Oak Park that second time, we knew we were going to win.”

This time, there was no stopping Burroughs, as Dalmada finished with 19 kills and was one of five Indians to tally six or more kills in Burroughs’ 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21 victory to clinch the school’s first-ever CIF regional championship. Van Loo spearheaded the offense again with 47 assists and six kills.

The taste of winning a championship and gaining a slice of revenge did end with a bittersweet twist.

“After that match, all you want to do is keep it going,” Van Loo said. “You want to strive for more, another championship, but you realize that’s it. All those games you won and lost, all those moments with your teammates are over. All you can do is appreciate what you had.”