Falcons remain tied for first place in the Pacific League standings with Burroughs heading into the final day of the regular season

After a heart breaking loss to the John Burroughs Bears back on Tuesday night, the Crescenta Valley Falcons bounced back with a sweeping victory over the Burbank Bulldogs (25-16, 25-23, 25-16) to remain tied for first place in the Pacific League with Burroughs. Burbank came off a four set victory over Glendale heading into their second meeting with CV. 

Prior to the opening serve, a pregame tribute was held to honor those who have survived breast cancer and those who have passed away from the disease, along with those who’ve stayed in the fight against breast cancer. On the volleyball court both the Bulldogs and Falcons were awarded free points to begin the first set, as CV got the game’s first point with Burbank committing a uniform violation with Burbank getting a free point with the Falcons charged with a no serve. These were honorary moments. 

Once service began, the Bulldogs jumped off to a 4-2 lead on a kill by Lorin Azizan with the assist by Grace O’Connor. While it was a back and forth first set the Falcons took control midway through and came out on top with a 25-16 win over the Bulldogs. The second set also began with no team gaining a distinct advantage. Addy Lopez and Megan Bashar got the Falcons in front for a 2-1 lead. Emerson Chong recorded back-to-back aces to give the Bulldogs a 4-3 lead. Burbank gave CV everything they could handle throughout the second set, but the Falcons escaped by the final score of 25-23 on a set-ending block by Bashar. 

The Bulldogs were trailing at one point 8-2 to start the third set until O’Connor, Lorin Azizan and Chong helped spark a rally to cut the lead to two. Charlee Ziegenfuss recorded three straight aces to put the Falcons up 14-8. Addy Lopez and Madi Yosh both traded kills, with Yosh’s kill putting the Bulldogs back within five. From there, the Falcons took control of set three to complete the sweep of the Bulldogs. 

“It was a competitive game throughout the night, Burbank did a great job with their serves and played smart, especially defensively, but it was a game that we got a lot out of.” said Matt Simons. Simons added that dig pink is a really awesome tradition that they get to do every season with Burbank along with donating stuff to the side out foundation which is a cause that’s super important to all the high school volleyball programs. 

“I have never been more proud of this team than I was tonight, the girls stepped up against a CV team that’s very explosive on both ends of the floor.” said Carmen Camacho Platas. Camacho Platas added that the dig pink games with Crescenta Valley have always been so fun, especially the tradition of doing it every October to spread awareness for the battle against breast cancer. 

Burbank drops to 12-19 overall and 6-7 in Pacific League play with Crescenta Valley improving to 22-11 overall and 12-1 in Pacific League play. Both teams will return to action on Tuesday, October 14th for the regular season finale. Crescenta Valley will play at Arcadia at 5:00 p.m. with Burbank playing their crosstown rival Burroughs at John Burroughs High School at 6:00 p.m. with a lot to play for. Burbank can clinch a CIF Southern Section playoff berth with a fourth place finish, which would require a Pasadena loss to Muir, or with an at-large entry.