Burbank Boys Volleyball Sweeps Glendale in Pacific League

Burbank High’s boys’ volleyball team swept Glendale 25-20, 25-15, 25-19 in a Pacific League volleyball match Friday, and it wasn’t particularly close at any point.

Head coach Brandon Villaflor got contributions across the roster from the first rotation, and the defense held up all afternoon. Serving in volleyball was a clear point of emphasis, and the Bulldogs cashed in repeatedly on service runs that put the Nitros on their heels early.

“Our goals today was starting off with a better energy, staying disciplined, and remembering our sense of our standards when we’re playing,” Villaflor said. He added that the team’s aggression behind the service line was sharper than it’s been, and that contributions coming from the full roster is exactly what he’s been building toward in practice.

Senior Jun Angel, junior Michael Becker, and junior Brandon Chong led the way. Chong was the most disruptive force of the three, creating problems for Glendale at the net, at the line, and in transition.

Set one started with a 4-1 Burbank run after a push from senior Caiden Kai Abarabar. Becker followed with back-to-back kills to stretch the lead to 7-4. Chong’s rocket made it 8-5. Angel’s service ace pushed Burbank to 11-5, and another Chong tapper extended the lead to 14-7. Glendale clawed back to 17-13 on a Burbank hitting error, and the Nitros showed enough fight to make it competitive for a few points. Don’t read too much into it, though. Chong answered with consecutive strikes, senior Farkhat Taishev hammered one home to make it 22-18, and Chong closed the set with a push and an ace to set up set point. Senior Tyler Tran’s laser finished it. Bulldogs up one.

Set two went cleaner. Glendale got early traction, with an ace knotting things at 2-2 and a kill from the Nitros putting them ahead 7-3. Chong pulled Burbank within 8-7 on consecutive spikes. From there it wasn’t close. Taishev’s hit made it 11-9, Chong’s ace stretched the lead to 15-9, and Angel’s rocket put Burbank at 19-12. The set closed 25-15, and it felt even more one-sided than that.

The third set was the only one where Glendale’s side of the net produced any real tension. The Nitros jumped out 3-1 on a Becker error. Becker answered with a kill to tie things at 7-7, and the Bulldogs didn’t trail again. Junior Finian Cassada dropped a winner to make it 14-10 and then added an ace to push the lead to 16-12. Angel’s push made it 18-12. Becker’s touch shot moved Burbank ahead 19-15. Senior Noah Lam chipped in an ace for 21-16, Chong’s spike put the Bulldogs at 24-17, and Angel’s shove closed out the match.

The 25-19, 25-15, 25-20 final doesn’t tell the whole story of Friday’s context. Glendale came in at 0-7 overall and 0-6 in league play. The Nitros hadn’t won a single set all season, and they suited up just seven players Friday, one of whom sat the bench the entire match. That’s a hard situation for any program to be in, and it limits how much anyone can read into a Burbank performance against them.

Still, a sweep is a sweep, and Villaflor’s point about energy and discipline isn’t wrong. The Bulldogs won three sets without letting Glendale gain real momentum in any of them, and the serving runs that buried the Nitros in sets one and two reflected work done in the gym, not just a talent gap. More context on the program’s full picture is available at MyBurbank.

Burbank’s record sits at 3-9 overall after the win.