Grote paces Burroughs volleyball in sweep over Crescenta Valley
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LA CRESCENTA — Burroughs High girls’ volleyball player Marin Grote poses a tall order for opponents in more ways than one.
At 6-foot-4, the all-league player poses an imposing figure whether in the middle or on the outside for the Indians. In addition, her skills are hard for opposing teams to contain.
Crescenta Valley found that out first hand Thursday when it faced Burroughs in the first of two Pacific League matches between the two this season. Grote tallied a match-high 19 kills in helping the Indians earn a 25-15, 25-10, 25-9 sweep against the host Falcons.
PHOTOS: Burroughs girls’ volleyball sweeps Crescenta Valley
“We moved Marin to a new position this season so she’s still a work in progress,” said Burroughs Coach Edwin Real, whose team was fresh from a second-place finish in the Capistrano Valley Tournament on Saturday. “She normally plays in the middle, but we will now and then move her to the outside and she does very well there.
“You can see how comfortable she is in the middle, but she can be so effective for us from the outside as well.”
The win keeps Burroughs (8-4, 4-0 in league) undefeated in league and tied for first place with Arcadia.
Under first-year coach Kevin Boyke, the Falcons (3-7-1, 1-3) are trying to find their identity with a young team.
“I have said that we are going to be a good team, I just don’t know when that is going to be,” Boyke said. “There were points today that I was happy with the way that we played in the match, but we’ve just had a problem with consistency this season.
“We are young and very inexperienced and we are working on getting better as a team. We try and focus on the positives as a team. These matches against teams like Burroughs are only going to help us with our development.”
Burroughs, which received nine kills from Danielle Ryan, began the match by leading for all but the first point in the first game. The Falcons played well early on, tying the score at 7. But the Indians embarked on an 8-0 run to take control with a 15-7 lead. Burroughs increased the advantage to 20-10 and maintained the margin throughout the rest of the stanza.
Crescenta Valley shook off the first-game loss and played better early in the second. When Burroughs committed an attacking error, the Falcons enjoyed a 10-5 lead. Once again, the Indians battled back. They went on a 6-0 run to surge ahead, 11-10.
The Falcons took back the lead in the second, 12-11, on a kill by Aryn Alanizi (five kills). The Indians stayed close and regained the lead at 17-16 and completed a six-point surge that gave them a five-point advantage, 21-16, before closing out the frame.
“We really started to click as a team during the summer and now we’re just really playing well together,” Grote said. “We try not to get down as a team when we do fall behind and we just try and pick each other up.”
The Falcons again only won the first point in the third game before the Indians took control. Burroughs outscored Crescenta Valley, 13-3, to take a nine-point advantage, 13-4. The Indians were able to cruise the rest of the way, closing out the game and the match.