Boys’ volleyball (1-6) lost in straight sets to Hillsdale High School (6-2) on Wednesday, April 24. The Panthers mounted a strong comeback in the third set, but fell to the Knights, who lead the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) Bay — 25-13, 25-16, 25-23.
During the match, some of the Panthers adapted to new positions. One example included sophomore libero Zander Hakes, whom assistant coach Eric Chiang said the team wanted to get more playing time as a setter.
Hakes said he was nervous to set against such a tough opponent.
“I was surprised when I heard that I was setting in the first set against [Hillsdale], though, we didn’t get the result we would have liked out of that game,” Hakes said. “… we were missing some of our key players, but we still did our best to make it work.”
However, during the first set, the Panthers’ defense weakened, and they were not able to attack as effectively. Hillsdale gained momentum, scoring point after point, and the Panthers began to lose energy.
Towards the end of the first set, the score was 23-12 as Burlingame finally stopped a serve run by Hillsdale. However, following two missed serves by the Panthers, Hillsdale put the first set away 25-13.
In the second set, the players returned to their regular positions, falling back into a more familiar rhythm. Hillsdale maintained a lead, but the Panthers were able to make headway.
Sophomore Bat-Erdene Tuvdendorj said that although the team was playing well, defensive mistakes gave Hillsdale more opportunities to attack.
“Our defense was pretty good, but then, we didn’t communicate when the ball came down,” Tuvdendorj said.
Even with a scrappy offense, Burlingame was unable to get past Hillsdale’s blocking and hard-hitting attacks, which led to the Knights winning the second set with a score of 25-16.
In the third set, the Panthers created one of their first leads of the game, starting at 7-6 and extending it to 19-13.
According to senior Fabian Falconette, while Burlingame could have played a cleaner game, it was well fought on both sides.
“We had a lot of grit, a lot of heart, but [our] big weakness was the passing, the serve receive, and I think playing consistently. Our pins were doing good, and setters were making it work, but the big hole was the receive and defense on the right side as well,” Falconette said.
Despite the improvement, the Knights quickly caught up until the score was 23-20. On Hillsdale’s match point, Tuvdendorj hit the ball out, but the Panthers obtained the point when the referee called a net touch by the Knights. Then, junior Owen Carroll scored an ace, bringing the score to 24-23. After Caroll served again, Hillsdale was able to get the ball up, and ultimately the match was concluded with a spike from Hillsdale’s front line.
Chiang said he believes Hillsdale’s position in the league made this game important for the team.
“They’re one of the top three teams in the league right now, and we’re towards the middle to the bottom of the league,” Chiang said. “And so for us, this was an opportunity to try to pick off one of the top guys, and unfortunately, we didn’t. We came up short this time.”
