Burroughs Served Very Well by Its Aces : Volleyball: Hart can’t return service 17 times in absorbing Foothill League sweep. Russell contributes 15 kills.

Linda Murphy, Burroughs High girls’ volleyball coach, said she knows her team is playing well when its serving is on.

After the first game of Tuesday’s Foothill League match against Hart, Murphy knew Burroughs was in good shape.

Burroughs had eight aces in the first game and 17 overall in a 15-13, 16-14, 15-7 victory.

Burroughs, Hart and Canyon have two league losses. The sweep by Burroughs means the league champion will not be decided until the Foothill League tournament next week.

Kara Older led Burroughs (10-3, 5-2) with six aces, including one on match point. None of Older’s aces came in the first game.

“Our serving can really make a difference in close games when we’re playing against a good team,” Murphy said. “There’s no question we served very well today.”

Four players had first-game aces. Elizabeth Vejar had three in a row as Burroughs took the lead for good, 12-10. Christy Russell and Julie Pham each had two aces, Suzy Babko had one.

Hart (9-4, 6-2) was plagued by serving problems throughout the match, but did finish with six aces.

“We simply just gave away points,” Hart Coach Mary Arispe said. “We blow five or six serves in a game, we’re not going to win.”

Outside hitter Russell finished with 15 kills, four in a row at one point. She added four blocks and four aces. Eleven of the kills came in the second game.

Lisa Holowach had 14 kills for Hart.