Bulldogs go 1-1 on day one and then go 1-3 on day two 

The Burbank Bulldogs went 2-4 in the two-day varsity tournament at Burbank High School with matches against Holy Martyrs, Shadow Hills, San Dimas, Canyon, Golden Valley, and Saugus. Before the two-day tournament, the Bulldogs started the season 0-2 by dropping the first two games of the new season to Providence and Marlborough in a sweep. 

Burbank began day one of the tournament by recording their first win of the season by defeating Holy Martyrs in three sets (25-21, 10-25, 15-13). This was also the season opener for Holy Martyrs as they came into the new season following a 7-20-2 overall record and a 1-4 record in Liberty League play last Fall. Sam Yosh began the scoring for the Bulldogs with the game’s first kill to give them an early 1-0 lead in set one. Burbank then went on a 7-3 scoring run with Grace O Connor, along with Maddi and Sam Yosh helping with the offense until Anya Oganian’s failed kill attempt stopped the scoring run for the Bulldogs. Burbank ended up defeating Holy Martyrs 25-21 in the opening set. 

Holy Martyrs began set two committing a double-taping violation, which resulted in Burbank getting the point. Oganian then failed to record a kill with the ball going out of play, resulting in the score being tied at one. Holy Martyrs had control of set two with Lori Terterian recording three straight aces to inch them closer to a second set victory. Terterian and Ashley Keshishian recorded back-to-back aces to give Holy Martyrs a 25-10 victory in the second set. 

The Bulldogs overcame a 9-1 deficit in the third set to win the match by the final score of 15-13 over Holy Martyrs. Emerson Chong, Maddi Yosh, Frankie Kim, and Gabriella Jarrah all played a part in the Bulldogs’ come-from-behind victory. Terterian helped Holy Martyrs get off to a 9-1 scoring run with three straight aces until Chong responded with an ace of her own in which changed the entire set completely with a big rally. 

Burbank ended day one of the tournament with a three-set loss to Shadow Hills (15-25, 29-27, 10-15). Shadow Hills entered the tournament by coming off a sweeping victory over Twentynine Palms back on Wednesday, August 13th. The Knights began set one by going on a 4-1 scoring run. Skylah Archer had two kills to start the opening set, and Natalia Smith had an ace to help with the early offense for Shadow Hills. The Knights continued to have control of the opening set as Archer helped the Knights end set one with a game-ending kill to give Shadow Hills a 25-15 win over Burbank.

Emerson Chong began the second set with a kill to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead over the Knights. Chong also recorded a block to give Burbank a 2-1 lead. The Knights had control of the set two and were well on their way to a sweeping victory over Burbank until Anya Oganian and Grace O’Connor sparked a late rally for the Bulldogs, which helped lead to a 29-27 win over Shadow Hills to force a third set. The third set with a back-and-forth battle, but the Knights ended up escaping with a 15-10 win over the Bulldogs in set three on a match-winning ace by Allie Arias. 

On the second day of the tournament, Burbank took on Canyon and San Dimas in pool A play. The Bulldogs dropped to San Dimas in three sets (25-17, 9-25, 14-16) and then got swept by Canyon. Burbank went on to play Golden Valley in the challenge showdown, in which the Bulldogs swept the Grizzlies. Burbank ended their tournament falling to the eventual back-to-back tournament champion, Saugus. 

In the San Dimas showdown, the Bulldogs went on a 5-1 scoring run with Emerson Chong leading the charge with a game-tying kill and back-to-back aces to start the opening set. Anya Oganian, Grace O’Connor, and Maddi Yosh all played a part in Burbank taking control of the opening frame, which resulted in the Bulldogs taking set one by a final of 25-17. Chong recorded a block to close out the opening set. While Burbank was looking to complete the sweep of San Dimas, the Saints held the Bulldogs to only nine points to force a third set. Both the Bulldogs and Saints played a neck-and-neck third set, but ultimately, Taylor Smith ended Burbank’s comeback hopes with a game-winning kill to give San Dimas a 16-14 win in the third set. San Dimas eventually ended the tournament as the runner-up for a second year in a row behind the back-to-back champion Saugus Centurions. 

In the Canyon contest, the Bulldogs had no answers in stopping the Cowboys’ powerful attack behind a 5-1 scoring run to start set one. Parys Taylor and Oliva Turner both played a part in the offense for Canyon’s run of points, which resulted in them taking control of the opening set. Taylor also recorded the game-sealing ace to give the Cowboys an opening set victory. The Bulldogs also got outplayed in the second set, which resulted in the Cowboys completing the sweep. 

In the challenge round, the Golden Valley Grizzlies got off to a fast start by going on a 4-0 scoring run. Amanda Brewer and Aikaterioni Ntatianidou both played a role in the offense, with Ntatianidou recording three straight serving aces to start the opening set. The Bulldogs got back into the game with Lorin Azizian recording three straight aces to tie the score at five. The Bulldogs had momentum throughout the remainder of the opening set, with Gabriella Jarrah sealing set one with a kill to give Burbank a five-point win in set one.

Emerson Chong and Anya Oganian played a part in the Bulldogs’ 9-2 scoring run to start set two. Golden Valley made it a competitive second set with points by Quinn Fisher, Ava Dalangin, and Sophia Saris, all keeping the Grizzlies in the contest and cutting the Bulldog lead to four at one point in set two, until Emerson Chong helped the Bulldogs complete the sweep with another kill to give Burbank another five point win over Golden Valley. The Bulldogs ended up advancing to the first round of the single-elimination play and eventually took on the back-to-back tournament champion Saugus. 

The Bulldogs got exposed by a powerhouse Saugus squad, which resulted in a sweep. Grace O’Connor and Emerson Chong scored back to back points to help the Bulldogs get out in front with an early 2-0 lead to start the opening set.  Emily Tran played a part in the Centurions’ 11-3 scoring run with her five straight aces. Saugus continued to have the upper hand in the contest and took the first set by a final score of 25-10 over Burbank. The Centurions held the Bulldogs to seven points to complete the sweep and moved on to the second round of the playoffs. Saugus went on to beat Gabrielino in round two and then beat San Dimas in the championship round for a second year in a row. Burbank drops to 2-6 on the season.