Increasing her medal count
BURBANK — Opponents of the Burroughs High girls’ volleyball team are going to have to deal with Traci Hamanaka next season.
For two seasons, she has already frustrated and turned back opposing teams with her skills as a libero for the Indians.
However, the junior-to-be has been improving her skills during the summer and should be back even stronger in the fall.
“I play a lot of volleyball in the summer, both with my club team and with Burroughs,” said Hamanaka, who competes for the California Juniors club team out of Long Beach. “But I love volleyball so much, and that’s what I would rather be doing.”
Hamanaka is fresh from pulling an impressive feat with her club team. Competing in the Volleyball Junior Olympics in Dallas, the California Juniors were able to capture the bronze medal in the 16 Open Division.
It is the third time in four years Hamanaka has been able to earn a medal in the prestigious tournament.
“On the team that I play for now, we really get along very well together,” said Hamanaka, who is a libero and defensive specialist for her club team. “Playing against the teams that we did, it was amazing that we were able to finish in third place.”
The program director for the squad is award-winning Coach Brian Gimmillaro of Long Beach State. He also serves as an assistant coach for the Juniors.
In 2005, Hamanaka won the gold medal on the San Gabriel 13 Roshambo team. In 2007, she moved up a division and won the bronze medal with the San Gabriel 16 Roshambo team.
In this year’s competition, Hamanaka and her squad went up against 28 of the best teams in the country.
“The toughest teams we ended up playing are some of the same teams we always play against in Southern California,” Hamanaka said. “California has some very good teams.”
The Juniors lost in the semifinals July 4 to the eventual champion, Encinitas Wave, 3-1.
Hamanaka will no doubt put the skills she’s perfected this summer to good use with Burroughs in the fall.
Last season, she played an integral part in helping the Indians achieve a break-through season.
She helped the team go 14-0 in league and earn its first Pacific League championship in 13 years. In addition, Burroughs (20-5) advanced to the Division IIA playoff quarterfinals for the second straight year.
In 2007, Hamanaka, a two-year starter, averaged 10 digs per match — including 24 against Arcadia — to earn first-team all-league honors.
“I’m excited about next year,” said Hamanaka, who has been competing with the Indians during summer-league play. “We want to keep our place [among the top teams in the division] and our goal is to win another league championship.”