After picking up wins against Baker and Vale last week, the Burns Hilander volleyball team secured their place as district champions of the Eastern Oregon League.

On Wednesday, Oct. 19, the Hilanders took on the 4A No. 3 ranked Baker Bulldogs in John Day. Burns was on fire, winning in four sets 25-7, 25-14, 23-25, and 25-19.

Three players had double-digit kills, including Mackenzie King with 16, Caitlyn Horrell with 13, and Akylah Kaino with 11. Reese Rothwell contributed three, and Klaire Theall finished with two.

King also led with six aces and 100 serving percentage. Horrell had four aces. Rothwell had three with 100 serving percentage. Ashley Wright added three aces, and Lacie Tiller finished with two.

Kaino led Burns with six blocks. Rothwell had four, Horrell had two, and Theall finished with one.

Macy Temple led the team with 18 digs on the night. Wright had 12, Tiller had 11, King finished with five, Halle Houck had four, and Kaino had three.

Wright led the team with 40 of the 45 available assists.

Three days later, Burns hosted the Eastern Oregon League tournament along with Nyssa and Vale on Saturday, Oct. 22.

Vale defeated Nyssa earlier in the day to earn a spot against the Hilanders, but the Vikings ultimately fell in three straight sets 25-9, 25-4, 25-16.

King finished the day with 17 of the team’s 39 kills. Kaino had eight kills, Horrell finished with six, Theall had five, and Rothwell three.

Burns only recorded seven aces, with Wright picking up six and Rothwell adding one.

Kaino blocked the Vikings seven times. Horrell finished with four blocks, Wright had two, and King and Rothwell finished with one apiece.

The Hilanders amassed 50 digs against Vale. Temple led Burns with 13, Wright had nine, Tiller ended with eight, King and Rothwell had seven, and Houck and Kasey Winn finished with three.

Wright finished with 29 out of the team’s 35 assists.

The win against Vale put the Hilanders (27-3, 10-0) in the sixth seed spot in the 3A OSAA playoffs. Burns receives a first round bye and will play in the second round, hosting the 11th seed Corbett Cardinals (19-5, 10-2) Saturday, Oct. 29 at 6 p.m.