BCAT News

The Burlington High School Girls Varsity Volleyball team is on a roll this year as they advance to the semifinals this Thursday night.

The team had to face Weston, the 20th seed in the division, to secure a spot in the semifinals. Coach Courtney Wall is very pleased with how the girls play and she said it was not an easy task.

“Going into the game against Weston, we knew we were going to have to play a clean match with limited errors,” she said. “They are a team who had already made it through two rounds of the tournament, so we knew they’d have a lot of fight in them.”

Throughout the year, the team has found success improving their skills on offense and defense. They also bring their physical and mental toughness to the court.

“We’ve had a lot of success this year when we focus on our own game in terms of offensive productivity, team defense, and aggressive yet consistent serving,” Wall said. “So those components were the focal points going into that game.”

This is the third consecutive season where the Burlington Lady Devils will appear in MIAA Tournament.

“Once you get into the postseason, the goal is to make it as far as you can,” she said. “So we were thrilled to the win over Weston and move on to the semis for the third year in a row.

Burlington will be facing the number one seed in the MIAA Tournament the Arlington Catholic Cougars. The Cougars defense allowed two points or less by their opponent.

The overall record for Arlington Catholic is 21-1 with the only loss of the year being against the Lynnfield Pioneers. As far as the league, the Cougars are 12-0.

The Lady Devils will need to bring their “A game” to the court because Arlington Catholic will be a difficult match up.

“Arlington Catholic is a very strong team who has had a very successful season and we know it is going to be a tough match up,” Wall said.

Finally, the team will bring everything they learned, practiced and demonstrated on and off the court.

“We want to go into this game and focus on the things that have made us successful throughout the season offensively and defensively, as well as to maintain a clean limited-error game,” she said. “We’ve had a strong week at practice and the girls are ready to take on Arlington Catholic.”

The girls will face the Arlington Catholic Cougars tonight at 5 pm at Stoneham High School.