BURBANK HIGH — The Burbank High and Crescenta Valley girls’ volleyball teams want to participate in the playoffs in November.
In the first of two Pacific League meetings this season, Burbank took a step toward possibly achieving that goal. Talented Crescenta Valley might have regressed a bit.
Burbank received 13 kills from middle blocker Narine Kirakosyan and 25 assists from setter Sarah Tubert to pick up a 25-19, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19 home win.
“It’s our biggest win of the season,” said Burbank Coach Sarah Brown, who previously served as an assistant at Crescenta Valley for two seasons. “It’s an important win for us because we want to place as high as we can in league.
“They know that they have to go out there and always be earning the points. It’s about being able to bear down and keep the ball in play and taking control of the game.”
For the most part, Burbank (4-1, 2-1 in league) earned its share of points against Crescenta Valley (7-3, 1-2).
Burbank used multiple-point runs to turn the Falcons aside.
“We have to want to win and want to play,” said Crescenta Valley Coach Jennifer Ryan, whose team will next face Burbank at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at Crescenta Valley. “They played with no emotion, and the same thing happened [in a loss] against Burroughs [Thursday].
“Burbank’s got a good team, but we’re not playing very well. There’s a lot of time left [in the season].”
The Bulldogs, who took part in the postseason last season, also got 10 kills from outside hitter Iris Mora and nine from opposite hitter Natalie Burns.
Burbank needed to regain its momentum after Crescenta Valley rallied late to win the third game.
In the fourth game, the Bulldogs got a kill from Kirakosyan to take a 13-7 lead. Although Crescenta Valley closed to within 18-17, the Bulldogs closed out the match with a 7-2 run.
The Falcons, who also qualified for the postseason last season, played noticeably better in the third game. Crescenta Valley used an 8-5 charge to get back into the match. Senior middle blocker Rachel Fisher had two kills in that stretch, including an ace to seal the win and force a fourth game.
In the second game, the teams played evenly. Crescenta Valley tied the score at 20, but several hitting errors cost the Falcons, and propelled the Bulldogs.
Burbank used a 9-1 run to take a 19-9 lead in the first game, which featured four kills from Kirakosyan.
Sophomore setter Payton Wheeler and junior setter Ashley McFadden finished with 19 and 14 assists, respectively for Crescenta Valley. Senior opposite hitter Tiffani Wilcox collected 15 kills for the Falcons who got 10 from senior outside hitter Julia Adams and nine from junior opposite hitter Leah Gagliardi.
