Burris volleyball
By THOMAS ST. MYER
tstmyer@muncie.gannett.com
MUNCIE — For the seventh time in its illustrious history, the Burris volleyball program finished the season with a zero in the loss column.
The Owls played virtually flawless volleyball in the final Saturday at Worthen Arena to sweep Southwood 25-9, 25-8, 25-16 and win its 13th consecutive Class 2A state championship and a state-record 21st overall.
Technically, Burris plays in Class 2A, but in actuality the Owls own 2A. Since the inception of the multi-class system in 1997, Burris’ record in tournament games stands at a staggering 89-0.
The Owls clinched the 89th victory on a Taylor Unroe kill, a familiar site. Unroe kills accounted for the final point in the previous two state championship matches.
“She requested that she be on the floor for the final point if we got to that situation,” Burris coach Steve Shondell said of the Florida recruit. “After everything she’s done for this program the last four years, I didn’t really feel I could turn her down.”
As the ball hit the floor and the Burris players mobbed each other in celebration, Allyson Morey and Unroe embraced. The senior captains lived up to the legacy by ensuring the state championship streak remained alive on their watch.
“It’s actually really sad, because I know I have 10 or 15 years of volleyball left if I stay healthy,” Unroe said, “but it will never be Burris volleyball. I’ll never have a tradition like this.”
The match against Southwood lasted only an hour as the Owls proved superior in every facet.
Burris so dominated the match that early in the third set, someone from the Southwood section of the crowd shouted to its players to, “keep smiling, girls.”
Overmatched and perhaps overwhelmed by Burris, the No. 5 Knights committed 20 hitting errors and finished with a negative hitting percentage of minus-0.80. The Owls put the pressure on, serving 11 aces.
Life proved to be smoother for the Burris attack. Unroe notched a match-high 10 kills followed by Taylor Morey and Chelsea Toth with nine each.
Burris stayed in system throughout the match as Morey, Taylor Harnish, Kelsey Carr and Unroe passed with precision to setter Allyson Morey. Taylor Morey tallied a match-high 15 kills and Harnish followed with 13. Carr notched nine and Unroe eight.
Harnish broke down into tears as she accepted her state championship medal. The senior played at Southside her first two years before she won admittance into Burris through the state-sanctioned lottery system. She played junior varsity last year in accordance with IHSAA rules that a transfer sit out for a year before returning to varsity competition.
“What an awesome year to go out on. It’s an amazing team,” Harness said. “To go out undefeated is not something a lot of kids can say they did, and to be second in the nation, national runner-up, and being able to hang a yellow banner in Burris’ gymnasium that’s really just unexplainable.”
Burris distinguishes its national championship and national runner-up teams with gold banners as opposed to the blue for state championships.
How Burris finishes in the final polls remain to be seen, though. The Owls top out at No. 2 nationally in the ESPN Fab 50 and the possibility exists for Burris to move up to No. 1.
The Owls certainly stated their case for a mythical national championship with a perfect 40-0 record. They won four mythical national titles and finished national runner-up in their previous six undefeated seasons.
“What’s exciting is we’re going to be able to hang a banner for at least being national runner-up,” Shondell said. “That puts this group among the top seven teams in Burris history that we’ve had. This day and age to go undefeated is just a great accomplishment with as good as it is and with the schedule we’ve played. It’s one of the best teams we’ve ever had.”
z Contact sports writer Thomas St. Myer at 213-5816.
