For the sixth straight year, excluding the 2020-2021 COVID-19 season, the Burns Hilander volleyball team are Eastern Oregon League champions. You have to go back to the 2017-2018 season, where they placed second in league.

This year is no exception, as the Hilander girls finished 10-0 in league play and are 26-4 overall after beating the Vale Vikings in the district playoffs at home on Saturday, Oct. 26. Burns needed four sets to take down the Vikings 25-15, 25-16, 19-25, 25-23.

In the four sets, Akylah Kaino led the girls in attacking with 20 kills. Caitlyn Horrell had 14 kills, while Jocelyn Graham racked-up nine kills, Danye Runnels finished with five kills and Megan Weil had one kill.

Kaino led the team in serving with three aces. Bailey Temple and Horrell each had two aces. Taylor Trent and Graham had one ace each.

Horrell finished with seven blocks in the four sets. Myah Rothwell and Kaino had three blocks and Graham finished with one block.

Temple led the Hilanders with 24 digs, Kaino had 19 digs, Graham and Trent each had six digs, Chloe Rothwell finished with five digs, Runnels, Horrell and Weil each finished with two digs, and M. Rothwell finished with one. 

C. Rothwell finished with 26 assists, while Trent had 14 assists. Temple added three assists, while M. Rothwell and Horrell each had one assist.

The Hilanders receive a first round bye and will host the No. 12 Yamhill-Carlton Tigers on Saturday, Nov. 2, with game time set for 1 p.m. The Tigers finished in second place behind Corbett High School from the Coastal Range League. They finished the regular season with a 14-7 overall record, going 10-2 in league play.