Burcescu, a 6'3 junior at Water Panas High School was named the 2016-2017 Gatorade New York Volleyball Player of the Year. Burcescu is the first Walter Panas student to win the award.
It was a banner year for Walter Panas volleyball, as it won the state championship for the first time this year, with a 51-2-4 record.
Burcescu recorded 663 kills, 125 service aces and 103 blocks. A MaxPreps First Team All - American, she was also named MVP of the Class A state tournament and earned First Team All - State honors for the second time.
She "has always been an exceptionally powerful and intelligent hitter,” said Mark Finegan, head coach at Pelham Memorial High. “She’s worked hard to become a very good all -around player too. She serve-receives and defends with tremendous energy and skill, and her serve is overpowering, the best I witnessed all season.”
The volleyball star has volunteered locally on behalf of a nursing home and her school’s STAR (Students Terminating Abusive Relationships) Club.
Burcescu has maintained an A average in the classroom. She will begin her senior year this fall.
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