First published in the Oct. 8 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
In both schools’ first match since the Pacific League split into upper and lower tiers, Hoover High traveled to Burbank High as the season’s final stretch began.
Against the visiting Tornados, the Bulldogs served up a sweep, winning 25-8, 25-18, 25-7 in Pacific League play Thursday afternoon.
Burbank (5-19 overall record, 3-5 in league) was dominant from the service line and racked up 22 aces in the match, with eight different Bulldogs getting in on the action. Raquel Fox led the way with six.
In early September the squads met to open league play, and it was also a sweep in favor of the Bulldogs. However, Hoover coach Araz Maleky liked what she saw in the rematch.
“I saw a lot of improvement in comparison with what we did with Burbank last time,” Maleky, in her first year, said. “There was a lot of improvement and I’m really happy with what they did.”
Game one saw the Bulldogs lead from start to finish, but game two was a much tighter affair. Hoover held an early three-point advantage, but a pair of aces by Isabella Barska tied the game and the hosts would not trail again. The game was tied at 11-11, but the hosts scored the next seven points. The Tornados stayed in it but could not catch up again, and two consecutive kills by Fox set the final margin.
Two early aces in game three by Liana Issaian put Burbank into a lead the Bulldogs would not give up. The hosts scored the last 11 points of the final game.
Hoover seemed to prioritze playing defense and getting the ball back over the net. Pavi Mudhar had two kills. Angelina Jones, Isis Analla and Serly Allahverdian had a kill apiece. Analla and Hera Hovsepian each recorded an ace.
“I liked the energy,” Maleky said. “I want to keep going with the practices and games like this.”
