All-league Husky volleyball players Amanda Burcham and Mahria Zook, 2002 Sweet Home High School graduates, aren’t done playing volleyball together yet. The two are part of Linn-Benton Community College’s lineup this fall.
Burcham was first-team all-league setter last year. She set 511-563 during league play and 631-672 outside league play.
Zook was named third-team all-league middle hitter. Her season statistics were cut short by an injury, but she hit 82/100 with 39 kills and 20 blocks during league play. She was 131-175 with 35 kills outside league.
“I went over during the last trimester and took a volleyball class,” Burcham said. She wanted to play, and LBCC Coach Jamie Frasier wanted her to play.
Zook sent a video compilation taken from games over last season to the coach and was invited to play on the team. She had been looking for a way to get help paying for college.
Both women will receive partial scholarships for playing.
Burcham has been playing volleyball her whole life, she said. Her mother, Karla Burcham, started coaching her in the fourth grade and ended up coaching her until high school.
Burcham played for three years on varsity after playing junior varsity her freshman year. Her junior year, she was given an honorable mention as a setter. She was team MVP her junior and senior year.
Zook started playing volleyball in the seventh grade. She played varsity her junior and senior year after spending a year each on the freshman and junior varsity teams. She was junior varsity MVP her sophomore year. She received an all-league honorable mention her junior year.
The LBCC Roadrunners placed second among the Northwest Association of Accredited Community Colleges two years ago, Burcham said. Last year, the team was inexperienced and didn’t do as well. The team has a large returning lineup.
The coach keeps “telling us how happy she is,” Burcham said. She compares the team to the one from two years ago, so Burcham and Zook have high hopes for the season.
“They just have so much heart, the hustle and the desire to do everything just perfect,” SHHS Coach Heide Nichol said of Burcham and Zook. “I really haven’t seen it in that many people.”
Both were strong leaders last year because they both had high expectations for themselves, Coach Nichol said.
Burcham and Zook will play alongside former rivals they still haven’t forgotten. Burcham will live with one of them. From Estacada, Burcham’s roommate is Becka Buhl, a player that Burcham and Zook remember giving the Huskies a hard time on the court.
“She’s good,” Burcham said. “She so nice and everything.”
The two Huskies also are getting used to playing with two women from Philomath, which always turns out good teams and tough competition for Sweet Home.
While not unheard of, it is uncommon for two athletes from the same high school team to play college ball together, Coach Nichol said.
“That makes it a lot easier,” Zook said.
“You’re not so nervous on the court,” Burcham said. As she gets used to setting for a new team, she’s already comfortable that Zook will be there to make the hits.
Both are settling into the new team, Burcham said. “They’re all really, really nice. We’re all just clicking.”
Burcham is dual-enrolled at LBCC and at Oregon State University. She plans to earn an associate of science degree in engineering at LBCC and a civil engineering degree from OSU.
Zook plans to earn an associate’s degree in theater and sports science. She is undecided about what she will do after that though she would like to major in performing arts after finishing at LBCC.
The two open their college careers tonight (Wednesday) on the road. They leave tomorrow for a weekend tournament in California.
LBCC home game schedule
Sept. 14 Green River Community College 6 p.m.
Sept. 25 Linfield JV 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 Lane Community College 7 p.m.
Oct. 2 Mt. Hood Community College 7 p.m.
Oct. 4 Clackamas Community College 7 p.m.
Oct. 16 Chemeketa Community College 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 Umpqua Community College 7 p.m.
Oct. 23 Southwestern Oregon Community College 6 p.m.
Nov. 11 LBCC Crossover Tournament TBA