But it wasn't enough, as Burroughs snatched the fourth game to record a 25-14, 22-25, 25-8, 27-25 win.
"I can't be upset with this loss," first-year Crescenta Valley Coach Steven Umemoto said. "We battled in that fourth game and they were out there giving it everything that they had.
"We were inconsistent at times, like we've been before. But we didn't lose this one, Burroughs came out and beat us."
The win was important to Burroughs (11-5, 8-1 in league) because it keeps it in the race for a Pacific League championship. The Indians are one match behind league-leading Arcadia, a team they will host at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
"We just have to go in there against Arcadia and play our best," said Burroughs Coach Edwin Real, whose squad fell to the Apaches in five games Oct. 5. "We just have to get three game wins."
The Indians had their hands full with a Crescenta Valley (7-5, 6-4) squad that wasn't about to go down to defeat easily.
In the fourth game, Burroughs enjoyed a seven-point advantage, 18-11. But behind senior Leah Gagliardi, the Falcons came storming back. They embarked on a 9-1 run to take a 20-19 lead.
The teams took turns holding the lead until Burroughs went up, 24-22. However, Crescenta Valley didn't wilt under the pressure, as it fought back to tie the score at 24. After the Indians were again one point away from sealing the match at 25-24, a kill by Gagliardi kept the Falcons alive again.
Following a Crescenta Valley hitting error, Burroughs was finally able to put the match away on a booming kill by Megan Stephenson.
"It was nice that we were able to come back and close out the match in that fourth game," Real said. "But it never should have gotten to that point. Sometimes we win the first game and we get happy, expecting to just win the second game. But we have to stay focused."
