BURNSVILLE TRIANGULAR OUT & ABOUT 5.8.2023
The last triangular of the regular season wrapped up with Burnsville taking two matches, Harding splitting, and Eden Prairie shut out. The focal point of the trio of matches was the final where the hosts took the last two matches in three sets over Harding out to complete a 5-2 win. Harding made a few adjustments to their lineup. Sea Lee left her first doubles partner and went to third singles. She and Ana Xiong, the former third singles, now at fourth singles, both won their matches today.
FIRST SINGLES
GAME 1: MADDIE BLACKBOURN 2, SANI DESHMUKH 0
(21-8, 21-11)
Maddie Blackbourn’s strong side out game kept Eden Prairie’s Sani Deshmukh bottled up in a two set win, both with double figure margins. Deshmukh was not able to generate a run and only managed to score four points off serve compared to Blackbourn’s 26. The points in this contest trended to fast with close to half lasting two strokes (or less).
| Category | BLACKBOURN | DESHMUKH |
| Side out | 12/16-.750 | 7/17-.412 |
| Longest side out string | 4 | 2 |
| 3+ Runs | 6 | 0 |
| Longest point string | 7 | 2 |
| SERVING | ||
| First serve | 2 | 1 |
| First point | 1, 2 | |
| First run | 1, 2 | |
| Service points | 26 | 4 |
| Serving % | 38/41-.927 | 20/20-1.000 |
| Point generated off serve | .619 | .286 |
| POINTS | 42 | 19 |
| Points after 11 | 20 | 9 |
| Points after own errors | 7 | 4 |
| Winners after own errors | 7 | 2 |
| STROKES | 144 | 70 |
| Strokes per point | 3.429 | 4.368 |
| 5+ rallies (%) | 7 | 7 |
| 2- rallies (%) | 19 | 11 |
| WINNERS | 26 | 11 |
| Aces | 3 | 0 |
| Blocks | 0 | 0 |
| Clears | 2 | 2 |
| Drives | 6 | 2 |
| Drops | 2 | 0 |
| Soft drives | 2 | 6 |
| Smashes | 11 | 1 |
| Even Stroke Winners | 9 | 9 |
| 2nd Stroke Winners | 4 | 6 |
| Odd Stroke Winners | 17 | 2 |
| ERRORS | 8 | 16 |
| Deep | 1 | 0 |
| Net | 2 | 9 |
| Wide | 2 | 7 |
| Serve | 3 | 0 |
| Even stroke errors | 2 | 15 |
| 2nd stroke errors | 2 | 8 |
| Odd stroke errors | 6 | 1 |
| WINNER LOCATION | ||
| Left | 19 | 8 |
| Right | 7 | 3 |
| Largest Lead | 13, 10 | 0, 1 |
| W:E Ratio | 3.25 | 0.688 |
| Margin | 11.50 | |
| Set Point % | 2/2-1.000 | |
| Time | 11:56 |
GAME 2: KANLAYA THAO 2, SANI DESHMUKH 0
(21-7, 21-12)
This was almost a déjà vu game. Replace Thao for Blackbourn and the final margin is the same. The difference was Deshmukh was able to generate runs and had a lead in the second set. Thao trailed in the second set 10-9 and then went on a 12-2 scoring spree. Fatigue may have been a factor. Not just physical fatigue, but decision making. Both players error totals jumped in the second set from 4 to 9 for Thao and 6 to 13 for Deshmukh. Of Thao’s last 12 points seven were on Deshmukh hitting errors.
| Category | THAO | DESHMUKH |
| Side out | 6/11-.545 | 3/12-.250 |
| Longest side out string | 3 | 1 |
| 3+ Runs | 7 | 3 |
| Longest point string | 9 | 4 |
| SERVING | ||
| First serve | 2 | 1 |
| First point | 1, 2 | |
| First run | 1 | 2 |
| Service points | 31 | 9 |
| Serving % | 40/41-.976 | 19/20-.950 |
| Point generated off serve | .738 | .474 |
| POINTS | 42 | 19 |
| Points after 11 | 20 | 5 |
| Points after own errors | 7 | 4 |
| Winners after own errors | 5 | 3 |
| STROKES | 162 | 64 |
| Strokes per point | 3.857 | 3.368 |
| 5+ rallies (%) | 10 | 4 |
| 2- rallies (%) | 12 | 6 |
| WINNERS | 23 | 6 |
| Aces | 0 | 0 |
| Blocks | 2 | 0 |
| Clears | 9 | 2 |
| Drives | 1 | 1 |
| Drops | 4 | 0 |
| Soft drives | 3 | 2 |
| Smashes | 4 | 1 |
| Even Stroke Winners | 8 | 4 |
| 2nd Stroke Winners | 3 | 3 |
| Odd Stroke Winners | 15 | 2 |
| ERRORS | 13 | 19 |
| Deep | 1 | 0 |
| Net | 7 | 11 |
| Wide | 4 | 7 |
| Serve | 1 | 1 |
| Even stroke errors | 7 | 15 |
| 2nd stroke errors | 2 | 7 |
| Odd stroke errors | 6 | 4 |
| WINNER LOCATION | ||
| Left | 7 | 2 |
| Right | 16 | 4 |
| Largest Lead | 14, 9 | 1, 3 |
| W:E Ratio | 1.765 | 0.316 |
| Margin | 11.50 | |
| Set Point % | 2/2-1.000 | |
| Time | 13:13 |
GAME 3: MADDIE BLACKBOURN 2, KANLAYA THAO 0
(16-21, 21-18, 23-21)
Maddie Blackbourn stormed back, not only from being down one set, but trailing in the second set also 18-13. She started her epic run with a six stroke smash. The smash was the winner de jour in the second set for Blackbourn who ended up with 11. Her finishing kick of eight straight points started with seven straight winners. The streak continued on into the final set as she scored the first three points. But this time it was going to be Thao who would hold off fate. Thao faced match point three times and survived. Neither player could finish at 21. Blackbourn had her fourth match point after a four stroke clear to the right back corner. The 36 minute match (16 minutes alone for the final frame) ended with a twelve stroke hitting error.
A couple of interesting facts: Blackbourn’s winner totals by set were 7-16-12. We already explained about the 11 smashes in the second. But she had to shift to the less spectacular clear for the main winner in set three—six times. Thao seemed to gain strength on winners as the match wore on 9-10-15. Consistently the smash was her go to shot. She racked up 15 points in that manner.
Both players really were intent on smashing. So much so I charted to chart how many blocks a player had, but it was only for the third set. Each player did a better job picking up and neutralizing the smash. At least eight times Thao utilized her block.
These two players may have to get used to each other quickly. They could face each other in the team portion of the state tournament and then there is the individual tournament. If you missed today’s contest, you might be able to check out the action between these two again.
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| Category | BLACKBOURN | THAO |
| Side out | 17/33-.515 | 20/34-.588 |
| Longest side out string | 5 | 3 |
| 3+ Runs | 5 | 7 |
| Longest point string | 8 | 5 |
| SERVING | ||
| First serve | 1, 3 | 2 |
| First point | 1, 2, 3 | |
| First run | 1, 2, 3 | |
| Service points | 28 | 28 |
| Serving % | 53/60-.883 | 57/60-.950 |
| Point generated off serve | .467 | .467 |
| POINTS | 60 | 60 |
| Points after 11 | 29 | 32 |
| Points after own errors | 11 | 14 |
| Winners after own errors | 7 | 8 |
| STROKES | 259 | 228 |
| Strokes per point | 4.317 | 3.800 |
| 5+ rallies (%) | 28 | 17 |
| 2- rallies (%) | 17 | 18 |
| WINNERS | 35 | 34 |
| Aces | 2 | 1 |
| Blocks | 1 | 1 |
| Clears | 11 | 4 |
| Drives | 3 | 2 |
| Drops | 0 | 3 |
| Soft drives | 4 | 9 |
| Smashes | 14 | 15 |
| Even Stroke Winners | 18 | 16 |
| 2nd Stroke Winners | 7 | 5 |
| Odd Stroke Winners | 17 | 18 |
| ERRORS | 26 | 25 |
| Deep | 3 | 7 |
| Net | 6 | 7 |
| Wide | 10 | 8 |
| Serve | 7 | 3 |
| Even stroke errors | 10 | 11 |
| 2nd stroke errors | 4 | 5 |
| Odd stroke errors | 16 | 14 |
| WINNER LOCATION | ||
| Left | 16 | 5 |
| Right | 19 | 20 |
| Largest Lead | 3, 3, 6 | 5, 5, 2 |
| W:E Ratio | 1.346 | 1.360 |
| Margin | 0.00 | |
| Set Point % | 2/6-.333 | 1/1-1.000 |
| Time | 36:00 |
GAME 3: FIRST DOUBLES
BURNSVILLE (Jasmine Tran / Sherlyn Rojas) 2, HARDING (Christina Chang / Lilian Reiter) 0 (21-16, 21-14)
Last week Burnsville tweaked their first doubles line up when Jasmine Tran moved to third singles in the match against Johnson. Today she was back. This time it was Harding’s turn to tweak their first doubles line up. Shia Lee moved to third singles. Replacing her was Lilian Reiter, who played most of the year at third doubles. Christina Chang did not move. It came down to scoring on serve or preventing the other side from scoring on their serve. Burnsville did a better job at both. Sherlyn Rojas scored on her serve 87% of the time while Tran let loose eight smashes in a first set win. Rojas delivered five runs for the day, one less than the other three combined. On Rojas’ second service in the first set her run of four put the Blaze up for good. On her fourth service she tacked on two more (plus the side out) to give Burnsville a 19-15 advantage. The set was capped by Tran’s eighth smash of the set, seven strokes to the left side of the court. In set two Rojas got the Blaze up 6-3 on her first run which came on her second service. She nailed two straight aces, one a no go to the right, and the other a swing and a miss on the left. Rojas had three total aces in the match. No other player had any. On Rojas’ third service she rattled off six straight to build the Blaze their biggest lead of ten (16-6). At this stage the five points after the side out were all on hitting errors, two of which came on serve. Harding was not through yet. They had a late rally of three and then four to close the gap to 17-13. A missed serve ended that momentum. Tran had a backhand drive on the third stroke for a 19-13 lead. Tran did not have a smash in the second set. It was on Rojas to deliver, and she had two smashes to close the match, one of four and then three.
| Category | TRAN | ROJAS | CHANG | REITER |
| Side out when receiving | 7/14-.500 | 5/12-.417 | 4/20-.200 | 8/18-.444 |
| 3+ Runs | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Longest point string | 4 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
| SERVING | ||||
| First serve | 1, 2 | |||
| Scoring on service | 7/10-.700 | 7/8-.875 | 5/8-.625 | 3/8-.375 |
| Service points | 10 | 16 | 9 | 5 |
| Serving % | 16/18-.889 | 22/24-.917 | 16/17-.941 | 11/13-.846 |
| Point generated off serve | .238 | .381 | .300 | .167 |
| STROKES | 84 | 74 | 77 | 66 |
| WINNERS | 11 | 9 | 5 | 3 |
| Aces | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Blocks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clears | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Drives | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Drops | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Soft drives | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Smashes | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2nd Stroke Winners | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| SET UP POINTS | 8 | 8 | 6 | 11 |
| ERRORS | 9 | 12 | 12 | 7 |
| Deep | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Net | 3 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| Wide | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Serve | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 2nd stroke errors | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| WINNER LOCATION | ||||
| Left | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Right | 6 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| W:E Ratio | 1.222 | 0.75 | .417 | .273 |
| TEAM | BURNSVILLE | HARDING | ||
| POINTS | 42 | 30 | ||
| Points after 11 | 20 | 14 | ||
| First point | 2 | 1 | ||
| Longest side out string | 3 | 2 | ||
| Strokes per point | 4.10 | 4.13 | ||
| 5+ rallies | 12 | 11 | ||
| 2- rallies | 11 | 9 | ||
| Largest lead | 5, 10 | 3, 0 | ||
| Margin | 6.000 | |||
| Set Point % | 2/2-1.000 | |||
| Time | 14:20 |