Canyon junior Preston Richardson said during the preseason the boys volleyball team has been working on harnessing the extra energy and motivation needed to defend home court.

But after routing Burroughs High of Burbank 25-10 in the first game, the Cowboys couldn’t maintain their high intensity level and dropped three straight 25-17, 25-23, 26-24 at Canyon High School.

“That’s the way we’ve been playing, is up and down,” said Cowboys head coach Brian Ingino. “We’ve got a lot of young guys, so finding that consistency at the up is what we are work on right now.”

One of seven juniors on the team, Richardson finished with 13 kills and 16 digs, while teammate Curtis Van Grinsven finished with 14 kills and two aces. Michael Foster had five kills and two aces.

For the Indians (5-5), Lucas Yanez had 18 kills and 13 digs, Ike Nwachie added eight kills and three blocks and Tyler Yanez finished with 35 assists, four aces and seven blocks, all in the final three games.

Burroughs head coach Joel Brinton benched Tyler Yanez, the team’s starting setter, in the first game for disciplinary reasons, forcing the rest of the team to adjust.

“The guys were a little confused about what to do,” Brinton said.

The Cowboys (4-5) capitalized with unmatched energy.

During game 1, Canyon rattled off eight unanswered points to build a 15-3 lead and never looked back.

Richardson, Van Grinsven and Brian Nnaoji recorded strong kills and teammate Robert Soto added creative touches that caught the Indians off balance.

“We were focused, and we were playing for every ball,” Richardson said.

Then everything turned.

The Cowboys’ miscues compiled in the second game and slowly wore away at the team’s energy level.

Conversely, the Indians became increasingly more confident and turned the tables at the net.

It resulted in Burroughs’ game-2 victory.

In the final two games, both teams exchanged points, but it was the Indians who made the routine plays and were able to get the points when they mattered most.

“It was a lesson on what it takes to work hard, win or lose,” Brinton said. “I think the message after a three-hour practice (the day before) set in.”

Canyon nearly forced a fifth game by building a 22-18 lead in the fourth. But it could not sustain the advantage.

The Indians chipped away at the deficit with timely kills from Nwachie, as well as Lucas and Tyler Yanez, and erased their game-1 collapse.

“We got comfortable,” Ingino said. “We need to play for each point. I think that will come from maturity.”