Burroughs volleyball swept in first-place tilt

BURBANK - The Burroughs High girls’ volleyball team was eager for its rematch with Arcadia.

Earlier this month, the Apaches defeated the Indians in a five-game thriller.

With first place in the Pacific League still up for grabs, Burroughs needed a big road victory at Arcadia to keep pace.

It didn’t happen.

The Apaches swept the Indians, 26-24, 25-15, 25-18, at Arcadia High on Thursday.

Burroughs fell to 12-6 overall and 9-2 in the Pacific League, while Arcadia improved to 14-5 and 11-1.

After a competitive first game, the Indians started to lose ground in the second before nearly falling apart in the third.

“I think our attitude was at an all-time low,” Burroughs captain Caitlin Cottrell said. “We couldn’t pick our energy back up. We didn’t play how we usually do.”

Arcadia’s strong serving kept the Indians on their heels. The Apaches enjoyed 14 aces in preventing Burroughs from getting into its offense in any consistent manner.

“We can’t get the ball to our main hitters,” Burroughs Coach Edwin Real said. “You saw what we could do with our main hitters. We just had a hard time getting them the ball because of our passing.”

The second game was close early on, as the Indians battled to within 12-9. Then Arcadia took off and closed the second game on a 13-6 run to win, 25-15.

That momentum carried over into the third game.

The Apaches scored nine unanswered points to open the frame. The Indians did regain form and from that point forward outscored their opponent, 18-16, but the hole dug was too deep.

“Once we were back on our heels, they just stepped on us,” Real said.

The first game was a different story, featuring eight ties. Down, 20-15, Burroughs rallied to knot the contest at 24 before coming up just short.

That would set the tone for the rest of the match.

Cottrell finished with 14 kills. Arcadia was paced by Lexi Resch with 13 kills and Kristen Mueller with 23 assists.

Cottrell said that Burroughs’ immediate goal is to “strive for second place” in league.

Real was cautiously optimistic, but warned there’s still work to be done with rival Burbank sitting in third place nipping at their heels.

“I told them we’re not out of the woods just yet,” Real said. “We still have to play for second place.”