Burgar set to shoulder heavy load against Pandas

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This article was published 26/10/2023 (964 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Avery Burgar’s Friday and Saturday nights just got a whole lot busier.

She wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Brandon University Bobcats left side took 44 swings in six sets last weekend in a pair of 3-0 losses to the Saskatchewan Huskies. Burgar led BU in kills (13) and errors (16) with three aces off of her powerful spin serve.

She’ll search for more consistency this weekend when the Bobcats host the Alberta Pandas at the Healthy Living Centre tonight at 6 o’clock and Saturday at 5 p.m.

Interim head coach Kailan Robinson feels Burgar is ready for the job.

“Avery’s going to have to take a lot of the load for our team this year, she knows that,” Robinson said. “She swings heavy, she swings fast so it’s hard to stop her when she is on.

“She’s a tough girl. She’s a good leader, she wants the ball, she wants to do lots for her team and she’s someone who can handle that because she is physical and strong and knows we want to rely on her.”

The Sylvan Lake, Alta., native has watched Rayvn Wiebe in 2021 and Keely Anderson in 2022 transition to left side and become the go-to hitter. Now in her third season, Burgar is that player.

She last made that switch for her senior year of high school and played more right side again last year, but it beats last season when she wasn’t sure if she’d even keep her starting job from one week to the next.

“I’m excited for a bit more of the expectation of what’s going to happen week to week and not so stressed about whether or not I’m even going to play. It’ll be fun to settle in a little bit more,” Burgar said.

The five-foot-10 attacker had 110 kills and 72 errors on 348 attempts last season, playing just 16 of 24 matches. Burgar will always be one of the hardest hitters on the floor and can overpower defences whether they know she’s getting the ball or not.

She battled with shin splints due to overuse throughout the season and avoided jumping throughout the summer to recover.

Knowing her elevated role this season, she said she’ll be more comfortable taking some Monday practices off or reducing high-intensity reps, much like how National Football League players take “veteran rest days” on Wednesdays.

The Bobcats won’t get many breaks this weekend, however, with the 2-0 Pandas coming off a quick beatdown of the Thompson Rivers WolfPack. Veteran outside hitter Lauryn Tremblay led them both nights with double-digit kills while setter Justine Kolody spread the ball around nicely and kept her offence unpredictable.

Burgar said the big adjustment for her team is that Alberta likes to spread block — having blockers line up in their positions with the middle blocker closing left and right — while BU bunch blocks, with the three players closer to the middle of the court and moving as a unit.

The spread protects shots down the line and might leave a seam to attack cross-court more often, so the shots the Bobcats find successful at practice likely won’t work as well.

“They’re super tall, which is very different. Even when we’re playing against ourselves, no one on our team is that big,” Burgar said.

“Going in this weekend, it’ll be huge for us to just let them have their big kills because they’re going to get lots, but turning around, siding out and playing our game.”

For Robinson, the key to improving from last weekend is more aggressive serving and attacking, especially if BU is ahead. The Bobcats gave up a few leads in sets they should have maintained control of last weekend.

However, they feel like they’re on the right track to grow together.

“It might kind of look to some like a repeat of last year,” Burgar said. “But I definitely think there’s a way different energy coming out of that weekend than any weekends last year.”

BOBCAT MEN HOST DEFENDING CHAMPS

The BU men (0-2) were one of just two squads to lose both matches last weekend, earning just one point in a 3-2 defeat at Saskatchewan.

Now they play the defending Canada West champion Alberta Golden Bears (1-1), who split Thompson Rivers University and picked up four points.

The Golden Bears are physical and balanced, with outsides Isaac Heslinga, Liam Espedido and Jacob Sargent and middle Billy Johnstone all capable of big nights.

They start at 7:45 p.m., today and 6:45 on Saturday, or 20 minutes after the women’s match ends.

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