The boys volleyball team lost in four sets to the Burlingame Panthers: 25-17, 21-25, 22-25, and 14-25, on Wednesday night.
The Bears started the game strong as junior outside hitter Ben Warner* got the first point of the night with a spike. Senior setter Peter Chriss followed with an influential ace, setting the tone early in set one.
After an intense rally, the Bears took the lead, dominating the net and playing impressive defense. Kills from junior middle blocker Millo Skhiri and numerous strong blocks from Warner and Chriss paved the way for the Bears to find a 13-5 lead. Burlingame made strong efforts against M-A with strategically placed hits, but M-A’s offense remained composed.
The Bears’ offense and defense continued to be dominant, with Skhiri landing forceful spikes and Warner repeatedly blocking the Panthers from scoring.
Wrapping up the first set, Burlingame attempted to catch up but was unable to combat the Bears’ offensive power. The set ended in favor of the Bears, 25-17, taking their energy and momentum into the second set.
Skhiri’s dominance returned, opening with a successful hit landing on Burlingame’s court. Senior opposite hitter Jonny Kerr landed a spike after a lofty set, but Burlingame quickly closed the gap to 2-2 with impressive hits of their own.
Tension brewed between the two teams as the score remained tight throughout the second set. When Chriss planted a spike, setting the score to 7-6, the Panthers quickly retaliated with hit after hit, turning the tide in their favor, 9-7.
The Bears recouped after a Burlingame missed serve, followed up by Warner getting an ace on the service line to even the score at 9-9.
The Bears and the Panthers remained neck and neck until the final points of the set. M-A’s coordination got thrown off when the Panthers planted multiple hits in a row, giving them a 17-14 lead. The Bears took a timeout to slow the game down for the final moments of the set, allowing them to come out with the confidence to catch up.
Warner closed the gap with a successful attack against the Panthers, setting the score at 20-18. Although the Bears put up an impressive fight in the last five points of the set, they were ultimately unable to outdo the Panthers’ impressive team coordination. The Panthers blocked repeated attack attempts by the Bears, and the set ended 25-21 for Burlingame.
“We’re just coming out of spring break, so I think that when we won the first set, we got comfortable, and then after that, we just made mistakes that cost us the game,” freshman libero Nick Sandoval said.
Being first to serve in the third set, Burlingame hit the ball into the net, starting the set off strong for the Bears with a score of 1-0.
However, as the game ensued, the bears lost their footing after a few missed hits, and the score crept up to 5-3 with Burlingame in the lead. The Bears lost substantial momentum after a few more successful blocks, and the Panthers were up 9-7. M-A was off balance, and after missing a block paired with trouble on the serve receive line, the score was 13-7 in favor of Burlingame.
A timeout was called, and the Bears came back with intense enthusiasm. After a fierce rally, M-A managed to get some kills, closing the gap in the score to 13-9. In yet another lengthy rally, M-A was unable to respond to a powerful Burlingame spike, earning the Panthers a point and stretching their lead to 14-9.
A few heated rallies developed, and steadily narrowed the space between their score and the Panthers’ to 14-11.
However as the set progressed, M-A noticeably lost their might–following a few missed kills and bumps, the score was brought up to 19-15.
After a couple timeouts and a few missed serves and spikes, the score rose to 25-22, in favor of the Panthers.
Burlingame quickly took advantage of M-A’s dwindling energy in the fourth set. The Panthers took the lead by two points, but serves from senior outside hitter Dominic Auer rallied M-A spirits. M-A picked up some steam and closed the gap with a score of 5-5.
“I think we can start holding each other accountable more, because everyone made mistakes tonight, and that’s fine, but we need to learn from that in order to see what we can do,” Kerr said.
M-A fell behind again from a series of net violations and miscommunication, and the Panthers took a swift 10-5 lead. The fight remained difficult with endless exchanges, but a successful spike from Skhiri brought M-A energy back up and the score to 14-9.
A series of missed serves and spikes from Burlingame allowed M-A to find some rhythm. Despite this, Burlingame remained relentless, and M-A was unable to return a few plays in a row, quickly giving the Panthers a 17-10 lead.
After a block from Warner that resulted in a net violation, the Panthers reaped the benefits of M-A’s irritated energy by rapidly extending their lead. This made the thought of a comeback seem too far out of reach for M-A.
The set ended after the Panthers managed to get a block, with a final score of 25-14. The match ended with Burlingame winning three out of the four sets. “I think we’re just gonna take every game one at a time. The other team wanted to win more, and that’s exactly what played out. I think we’re going to focus on our stamina as a team following this match,” Sandoval said.
The Bears will travel to face the San Mateo Bearcats on Friday at 5 p.m.
*Ben Warner is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
