Burnt Hills caps off perfect season with sweep of Shen in Suburban Council Championship
BURNT HILLS, NY » Undefeated. Perfect. Immaculate.
There are many words you can use to describe the season that the Burnt Hills’ girls’ volleyball team had. On Friday afternoon, they won the Suburban Council Championship, capping off a season were they didn’t just go undefeated, they didn’t lose a single set.
“It’s just a great feeling for all of us. We were so excited once we hit final 25,” said Burnt Hills junior Callie Chevalier. “We’ve been working towards this the whole season and it was a really big moment for us.”
The Spartans (20-0, 600), a Class A school, faced off against Shen (16-3), a Class AA school, for the league title. Burnt Hills swept the match, 25-13, 25-20, and 25-12.
Many took notice of the tight second set that Shen played, as it was the closest set that any team has played Burnt Hills this season. No team had put up twenty on them this year in any set.
“We knew coming into this,
what a fantastic team this Burnt Hills group is,” said Shen coach Lori Kessler. “We did want to try to compete better than the last time we played them and I think we did that. We’re not upset at all. When we look at the season we had, we have a lot to be proud of.”
During that second set, Shen gave Burnt Hills another challenge they had yet to face this season.
“I think that was the first time we were down this season,” said junior Kiera Hartpence. “We were down and then we came back. We wanted to prove that we’re meant to be here and that we’re the best. We were being a little tentative. We just had to get back to playing our game and finding our spots.”
In the set, Shen was digging out nearly every ball Burnt Hills played, leading to several long volleys and a back-and-forth score, where Shen would lead by as much as three, at one point.
“We got into so many ruts the first time we played them and we couldn’t get our offense going. I feel like we improved on those last games against them. It wasn’t for three straight sets or anything, but I think the second set showed that improvement for sure,” Kessler said. “I was really proud of them, how they hung in there point-for-point. It’s a tough team to hang with for three sets and I’m happy with the effort we put out there today.”
Once the Spartans clinched the second set, 2520, they had no intentions of playing another that close.
“I feel like everyone plays their best against us and we’ve always had that target on our back,” Hartpence said. “Sometimes it’s hard to maintain that really high level of play the whole game. I think Shen really tested us today and we were still able to come out on top.”
Burnt Hills held Shen down in the third set, good for the 25-12 victory, the Suburban Council title, an undefeated season and a perfect 60-0 in every set they played.
“That definitely became a goal of ours and we wanted to finish it off, especially once we got to the finals. We know we’re the best and we wanted to prove it and show everyone why,” Chevalier said.
For Burnt Hills, Carlie Rzeszotarski led the way with 17 kills and three blocks. Claire Isaksen added 30 assists. Hartpence had 11 digs and had Chevalier seven kills. For Shen, Kasia Barletta had 19 digs, Rose Talty nine kills, Heather Junjulas seven kills and Emma Paliwodzinski 14 assists.
Aside from playing in the spring, this season is different for the Spartans in that this was the end of the line. There are no regional or state championship games to be played.
“Most of us didn’t know if we were going to have a season, so having something like a championship to play for means everything to us,” Chevalier said, though she knows it will be a short turnover to next season.
“I’m so excited for next season. I’m really going to miss having Claire (Isaksen) on our team, because we’ve been playing with her for so long.”
Chevalier and Hartpence, both Burnt Hills juniors, agreed that they would have had a shot to win another state title this year, had there been the opportunity.
“I feel really bad for all of the seniors. We won states last year and we all knew we had the ability to win it again this year, the circumstances of everything just didn’t allow it,” Chevalier said.
“Being able to play in the sectionals, regionals and state tournament - getting to do all that makes it really feel like volleyball season and I’m really looking forward to having that back for our senior year,” Hartpence added.
In the meantime, between the end of Fall 2 and the start of actual 2021 fall sports, the Spartans volleyball team will begin their club season as Lakeside Volleyball Club. Chevalier and Hartpence are looking forward to tournaments in Las Vegas, NV and Pittsburgh, PA.