Canyon Takes Five Games to Win Laugher Against Burroughs

Canyon High needed a little chuckle.

The Cowboys had lost the first two games of their volleyball match to Burroughs, and weren’t exactly smiling when their coach, Spencer MacCuish, took them outside for an unorthodox chalk talk.

They weren’t told to pick up their psyches or improve their execution, but were asked instead to . . . tell jokes.

Setter Wendy Roof, no stranger to comedy, piped up. “Why did the cookie go to the hospital?” she asked. “Because it was feeling crummy.”

The snickers began and the Cowboys took control of the Foothill League girls’ volleyball race with a 15-17, 6-15, 15-9, 15-5, 15-8 victory Thursday.

The third game was pivotal.

Looking strong behind Christy Russell (32 kills), Burroughs (6-3, 1-1 in league play) built a 6-2 lead.

But Marci Diaz had five of her 16 kills and April Kelly added three blocks to bring Canyon (6-0, 2-0) back to life.

“After we won that one, we knew we could pull it off,” said Andrea Koman, who had 12 aces and 10 kills. “We were so tense before, but we started talking and communicating.”

The Cowboys began to block better at the net and Burroughs helped with a series of service errors.

“This one was in our hands,” said Burroughs Coach Linda Murphy, whose Indians won the Foothill League title last season. “We thought we had it, but we let them back in.”

The fourth and fifth games were mirror images, Canyon taking leads of 9-1 and 10-0 with pinpoint serving (14 aces).

“The girls showed a lot of character and a lot of heart by not giving up on themselves,” said MacCuish, coaching his second match for Canyon since replacing Rick Phillips, who resigned to concentrate on college studies.

With a victory over Hart already on their resume, the Cowboys have their eyes on the Foothill League title.

“That’s our goal,” Koman said. “To win league and go undefeated.”

And, of course, to not play crummy again.