BHS Girl's Volleyball help cause, win match

Bulldogs help cause, win match
GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL: Burbank joins Crescenta Valley in raising funds for breast cancer research, and locals able to win Pacific League contest in three games.

By Gabriel Rizk, Burbank Leader
Published: Saturday, October 24, 2009

LA CRESCENTA — Kills, aces and assists played their normal prominent role in deciding the Pacific League girls’ volleyball match between host Crescenta Valley High and Burbank on Thursday afternoon. But by far the most important statistics in the Bulldogs’ 26-24, 25-15, 25-23 win were digs. As part of The Falcons’ Dig Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Rally in conjunction with the Sideout Foundation, money was raised for breast cancer research with each ball dug by both teams.

“They say one in eight women will be affected by breast cancer, so just on my team that means one of my girls will get breast cancer in their lifetime,” said Crescenta Valley Coach Jennifer Ryan, who initiated the Falcons’ involvement in the nationwide program last season, inspired partly by a former player whose aunt died of breast cancer and her own grandmother, who is a survivor of the disease. “It’s something that they need to be aware of. Hopefully in their lifetime, maybe a cure will be found.

”Players from both squads collected donation pledges leading up to the match, which also included a raffle. Ryan said that the totals raised from pledges will take some time to compile and the final figure should be tallied by Nov. 4. Last year’s event, which featured Burroughs and Crescenta Valley, raised more than $1,000 in pledges.“I think it’s important for [our team] to do stuff for other people and learn about [breast cancer],” Burbank Coach Sarah Brown said of the event that was timed to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “The girls were all up for it and excited about it. Any sort of fundraiser or charity thing that you can do with something that you love doing is great.”

Burbank got the best of Crescenta Valley for the second time this season, improving its third-place league record to 8-2 and gaining more ground on the fourth-place Falcons, who lost their second league match in a row and third in their last four. Senior opposite hitter Natalie Burns led the Bulldogs with 10 kills and three aces while junior outside hitter Leah Gagliardi was Crescenta Valley’s top offensive performer with 10 kills.

Burbank led the first game until Crescenta Valley pulled even at 19. The Falcons would battle to tie the game twice more at 23 and 24 but could never get a lead. They made their move earlier in the second game, pulling ahead, 5-4, on a roof by Gagliardi and led 12-11 on a kill from setter Payton Wheeler. But Burbank took full control with a 6-0 run, sparked by a kill from Narine Kirakosyan that broke a 12-12 tie and gave the Bulldogs an 18-13 lead.

“I told them we had to come out hard and stick to the game plan,” said Brown, whose team closed out the second game on a 7-3 run. “Our serving increased a ton in the second game and I think that helped us a lot in the third game.”The two teams were virtually neck-and-neck throughout the third game until the Bulldogs took a 20-17 edge and soon had the Falcons’ backs against the wall at 23-19. Crescenta Valley rallied to within one point on kills from Tiffani Wilcox and Julia Adams, but once again, Burbank was able to hold on.

Big Win for Girl's Volleyball

Narine Kirakosyan spikes the ball past CV's Jessica Dieny and Payton Wheeler during Tuesday's match. (Roger Wilson/The Leader)

Win is big step for Burbank

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL: Bulldogs play well and earn four-game Pacific League victory against Crescenta Valley.
By Charles Rich, Burbank Leader
Published: September 29, 2009

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.

BHS Girl's Volleyball

Easy Burbank Win last Thursday for the Burbank High Girl's Volleyball Team as they defeated Pasadena, 25-5, 25-11, 25-13. The host Bulldogs had little trouble gaining the Pacific League victory.

Alexandra Amela and Jessica Murphy paced Burbank with five kills each. Teamate Reilly Brennan had five aces, Jessica Fish had four kills and Briana Belvin had seven digs.