Season of Change

Keao Burdine emerges from an indoor winter with lofty goals despite two different AVP partnerships before the season even began

By Kirstin Olsen

In mid-March, the opening serve on the 2007 AVP Crocs Tour in Miami was but one short month away, and Keao Burdine was nowhere to be found.

She was coming off a big sophomore season on tour last year, making a splash with close friend and former University of Southern California teammate April Ross, but she had yet to be seen anywhere on the local South Bay beaches.

She hadn’t retired her bikinis just yet. She was actually honing her skills in Puerto Rico, and making some extra cash, a decision that ultimately cost her a couple of weeks worth of high places in the opening tournaments of the season.

Keao, whose heritage is Samoan, Hawaiian and Norwegian, and Ross started the 2006 season at the bottom as the 29th seed in the qualifier, but quickly the dynamic pair demonstrated their emerging skills by posting ninth-place finishes in Sacramento and Seaside Heights, N.J. Nice work for college buddies who were just getting their feet, um, sandy.

But much of the attention was focused on April and her potential talent, which culminated with a 2006 co-Rookie of the Year award with Logan Tom. And rightly so, as evidenced in Miami to start the AVP season, where April joined forces with Jen Boss for a second-place finish.
So it made sense that Keao, who was snubbed because of a technicality (she earned too many AVP points the season prior), might need to get out of town for a while and clear her head.
But this isn’t a story about jealousy and upheaval. Keao actually loved the attention her close friend received.

“I was excited for her, obviously,” said Keao. “I voted for her, too!”

Still, Keao’s trip to Puerto Rico in December was no vacation. She was there to help lead the professional indoor volleyball team Indias de Mayaguez, which held first place in Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino (LVSF) before coming up short in playoff semifinals. At one point during the season the team rattled off 14 wins in a row, and Keao, pronounced K-ow — as in “Ow, I stubbed my toe,” as she likes say — was one of the stars. She was second on the team in points scored, attacks and digs. But that experience, and some extra cash that was involved in it, meant her 2007 AVP season took quite a turn before even setting foot in the sand.

Hitting the Sand
Keao’s beach career, which began in 2003 at the AVP San Diego Open qualifier, has been mostly good times. Regardless of whose star shined brightest last season, April and Keao definitely caught the interest of the beach volleyball community and earned a ton of respect by knocking off some high-seeded teams.

April feels their breakthrough moment last year came when they beat Barb Fontana and Carrie Dodd in Sacramento.

“The bigger the game, the better Keao plays,” she said. “In the third game I was cramping, and she turned it on. She carried me through for us to win 15-12 in the third.”

April’s other favorite moment last year was playing the game “Ace” in Seaside Heights, on center court, post-tournament of course.

“I think April and I both complemented each other really well because we’re both hard workers and hate to lose,” Keao added.

Though they made a great team, they realized it was time to move on.

The Next Chapter
“April and I decided that, in order for the both of us to get better, we should play with more experienced players,” said Keao. “I’ve played on really successful indoor teams in the past, so I know what I have to do for myself in order to be successful again on the beach. And that, for me, is making sure I’m in good shape and doing everything possible to maintain that.”

Nancy Mason took notice of April’s success on tour and came calling in the off-season, which left Keao partner-less. That is until Jen Boss rang.

“We chatted about certain goals and when I would be available to train and whatnot, and then just decided to play together,” Keao said.

This season is Boss’ first as the cagey veteran of her team, just not the one she originally thought she’d be the leader of. She is well respected on tour, and she’s a fellow Trojan, so Keao liked the position she found herself in heading into the season.

“Keao responds well to someone pushing her,” said USC coach Mike Haley at the time, Keao’s college coach but not Jen’s. “She has a more reserved personality and doesn’t rock the boat. She could do well with someone with an aggressive persona, like Jen.”

That had Keao feeling confident, at least in March.

“I’ve always admired the tenacity that Jen carries on the court, and hopefully playing with her this season will make me dig deeper than I ever have before,” she said.
But beach training together was a valuable commodity, as Boss flew down several times for workouts. Keao in turn would drive two hours to meet her partner in San Juan. Then she’d turn right around to make her indoor practice that night.

They were planning to continue racking up frequent flyer mileage this summer by taking their partnership abroad on the FIVB circuit.

“Jen and I are going to be playing in a lot of international tournaments and hopefully have a run at the Olympics,” Keao said at the time.

But heading into the AVP Miami Open, Keao was finishing her professional indoor stint with Indias de Mayagues and was unable to play. Meanwhile, Nancy Mason was out recovering from outpatient back surgery. That left both Boss and Keao’s friend Ross without partners.

So they did the logical thing and partnered up, seemingly a one-time deal. Not so fast. In an interesting twist, Boss and Ross made a tongue-twisting tandem for announcers all the way to the women’s final, where they lost to Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh and followed up with impressive showings in Dallas and Huntington Beach.

With April and Jen now committed to teaming up for the foreseeable future, it's safe to say the relationship with Keao is a bit strained, at least right now. But such things happen regularly on the AVP Tour, and Keao sounded confident everything would work out. She partnered with Jaime Lee in Dallas and Claire Robertson in Huntington Beach. Things continue to look up as Mason has recovered and picked up Keao for Glendale and beyond.

Still Positioned to Win
Seemingly born with a ball in hand, Keao, whose name means “morning rainbow” in Hawaiian, was destined to be a great player. She started playing indoor volleyball when she was 8 and was on the beach when she was 10. The confessed gym rat spent most of her youth peppering with her siblings and hitting a ball against the wall while her parents coached.

The native of Pico Rivera, located just east of downtown Los Angeles, first got exposed to the beach in high school when playing club at Dave Denitz’s Club Diggers in Manhattan Beach. The girls she played with lived locally, and they would hang out at the beach and play in CBVA tournaments.

All that practice has paid dividends. Keao became a two-time All-American and won two back-to-back National Championships at USC. She was also the first player to be named NCAA Championship MVP twice, in 2002 and 2003.

Ever since she was a little kid, Keao has dreamed of being in a beach final and winning a tournament.

“I actually have a chance this year with Jen,” she said.
Motivation is not the issue with this young rising star, who said her parents have always been her biggest inspiration.

“I have been motivating myself to remember that there will be a huge payoff in the end, like winning a big tournament,” Keao says. “When I remind myself of the end result I get so pumped up!”

Despite her stoic on-court demeanor, Keao is not just all about die-hard volley, especially to friend Jill Dorsey of Hermosa Beach, Calif. She describes Keao as “laid back and humble and pretty low key.”

“She likes to have fun,” Dorsey said with a laugh. “We have choreographed a dance from FIT TV’s Madonna Hip Hop dance class. She loves dressing up and being stupid and having a good time.”

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