BALLET TO BLOCKER BURNLEY HAS DANCED TO VOLLEYBALL SPOTLIGHT.Byline: Lauren Gustus Staff Writer Tierra Burnley was more comfortable with a pirouette than she was with a bump, more adept at a plie pli·é n. A ballet movement in which the knees are bent while the back is held straight. [French, from past participle of plier, to fold, bend, from Old French; see pliant.] than a jump serve. A ballet dancer for six years, she never imagined she'd trade in her tights and slippers for spandex. Then, when her family moved from Reseda to Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, and she enrolled at Valencia High three years ago, she gave volleyball a try and a new passion was born. This weekend, Burnley, one of the top middle blockers in the area, and her club team will travel to Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern for the Davis Festival, a week-long tournament featuring more than 800 teams from across North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. that begins Monday. She's planning some fancy footwork - fancy enough to attract the attention of scores of college coaches looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. young talent. ``I'm not sure where I want to go to school,`` said Burnley, a 5-foot-11 junior. ``I'm just going to wait until Davis and see who offers and then choose from there. I've been there (Davis) since my freshman year. There are courts and courts and courts and (college) coaches from places you've never even heard of.'' Burnley has benefited from her dance background, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Valencia coach Ray Sanchez. ``She has a real balance and coordination,`` Sanchez said. ``Dancers are better aware of what their bodies can and cannot do.'' However, dancing has given way to volleyball completely. Since she took up the sport, she's played year round in high school - on the varsity since her sophomore year - and on her club team, Thunder Volleyball. High school volleyball has been about fun; club ball has played a more integral role in her athletic career. Thunder's under-18 Mizuno team, coached by Tuong Nguyen, has been putting in four hours of practice and about one hour of weight lifting weight lifting, international sport, also a training technique for athletes in other sports. From the earliest times men have lifted weights as a test of strength. three days a week since school got out. ``Club is different from high school,'' Burnley said. ``Tuong has been doing this for so long and he's more serious. You're not playing for fun at a club at our level.'' The hard work has paid off. She already has received several offers, according to Nguyen, and could pique more interest next week. ``A lot of people haven't seen her really aggressive, but now she's kicking it up,'' Nguyen said. ``She just exploded in the past two months.'' Burnley will have room to grow in her final year before college. For example, she admits she needs to work on her serve and refine her control. Sanchez is convinced she'll iron out such wrinkles and excel at Verb 1. excel at - be good at; "She shines at math" shine at excel, surpass, stand out - distinguish oneself; "She excelled in math" the next level. ``She's one of the top middle blockers in the (Foothill) league,'' he said. ``She was phenomenal as a sophomore, and with more experience, you get better and better.'' AT A GLANCE What: The Davis Festival Who: Top girls' volleyball players nationwide, including players from the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. When: Monday-June 29 Where: Davis CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Tierra Burnley and her Thunder Volleyball club team will be competing in the Davis Festival beginning Monday. Joel P. Lugavere/Special to the Daily News Box: AT A GLANCE (see text) |
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