LIVINGSTON MANOR – Rockland hosted Burke for a volleyball matchup Wednesday evening, with the visitors taking control of the match and coming away with a 3-0 sweep.

The opening set started relatively even as the two teams traded points, but Burke soon found its rhythm and began to pull away. Rockland struggled to slow the visitors once they established the lead, and Burke took the first set 25-9.

Burke carried that momentum into the second, opening with three straight points before Rockland could get on the board. The visitors continued to build their advantage, at one point holding a 14-6 lead.

Rockland responded with its strongest stretch of the match, putting together a five-point run to close the gap to 14-11. Burke quickly answered, however, maintaining its advantage before going on a seven-point run that pushed the score to 24-13. Rockland managed another point before Burke closed out the set 25-14.

With the match on the line, Rockland answered Burke’s opening point in the third to tie things at 1-1. Burke then took control with an eight-point run that quickly created a 9-1 advantage.

Rockland managed to put several more points on the board, but Burke continued matching its efforts and stretched the lead to 16-5 before a Rockland timeout. The hosts needed a major turnaround to extend the match, but Burke continued its strong play down the stretch and finished off the final set 25-9 to secure the sweep.

“My girls played with a lot of heart and made an intense amount of progress,” Rockland coach Yomary Rodriguez said. “It’s their first year and against Burke they did very well. I’m very proud of all of them.”