When John Michael Flint detonated on a ball that one-bounced high off the brick wall behind the volleyball court, it was like an alarm going off for the Bishop Diego boys volleyball team in Saturday’s CIF-SS Division 5 semifinal at the Brick House.
Flint’s bomb came near the end of a three-point loss in the first set against a fired-up El Dorado team. The Cardinals rolled up their sleeves, tightened their laces and turned the match around after a slow start. They beat the Golden Hawks, 22-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22, to advance to their first CIF boys volleyball final in school history.
Bishop Diego (27-8) will face Long Beach-St. Anthony for the title on Friday at a site to be determined. St. Anthony beat Bellflower in five sets in the other semifinal.
Flint and Damien Krautmann led the charge as they have all season, combining for 37 kills, four blocks and a pair of aces —Krautmann’s jump-serve ace ended the match.
But it was the role players who really shined in the clutch moments for Bishop.
Tyler Roberts and Kingston Bustos made huge contributions on offense and defense, especially in the third set. Roberts was spot-on with his passing and delivered six kills and two blocks; Bustos played solid in the a middle, collecting five kills and two blocks. He even recorded an assist on a Krautmann kill during a 5-0 run that rallied Bishop from a 10-7 deficit in the fourth set.
“When they get the big block up on me and Damien, it frees up Tyler Roberts and Kingston Bustos, and they got helluva arm swings too, so they can keep it up,” said Flint of his teammates.
“Kingston made a huge turnaround,” said head coach Dillan Bennett, who guided Bishop’s girls volleyball team to a CIF-SS title in 2021. “He had a really tough game against Brea Olinda (in the quarterfinals), but had a great couple of practices and did a great job serving, was alert on defense and his blocking was awesome. I also want to credit him with being available in the middle. When you got John Michael and Damien in the front row with you, you’re probably not getting set a whole lot, and he does such a great job being ready to go. He was available and he scored.”
Bennett said Roberts reminds him of himself as a volleyball player.
“He’s one of my favorite kids to coach because I think we have very similar games… of course that being a long time ago now. He passes the ball really well, he’s got a deep float serve and he’s got a great swing down the line. And, he plays with a chip on his shoulder. He’s a little guy but he plays with the big boys out there.”
Another key to the Bishop win was an adjustment it made in blocking. El Dorado hitters were crafty as they tooled blocks and exploited gaps between blockers. Outside hitter Ian Dang was a force early and finished with 14 kills and Evan Chin added 10. They combined for nine points in the first set.
“We were blocking line pretty much in the first set and we realized they were hammering cross court, so we moved that block in and it worked well for us,” said Flint.
The taller Cardinals took control at the net, getting touches, on more El Dorado attacks and converting in transition. The team scored 11 points on blocks. Flint recorded a team-high 20 kills and Krautmann hammered 17.
“I think more than anything in the first game, (the guys) just couldn’t figure out that we don’t need to go up to get the ball and if we just keep going across the net, we’re going to get a couple more touches,” Bennett explained. “Once Kingston got it going and Damien and John Michael figured it out, (it was like:) ‘Oh, wait a minute, they’re blocking balls now. They had changed where they were attacking the ball and it made (El Dorado) uncomfortable.”
The fourth set was full of scoring swings. After a 5-0 run gave Bishop a 12-10 lead, Deng sparked a El Dorado comeback to tie the score at 15, 18 and 19.
A kill by Krautmann gave Bishop a 20-19 lead, and the Cardinals tallied two more points on a double contact violation by El Dorado and a kill by Roberts that was set up by a Bustos-Roberts combination block.
The Golden Eagles got as close as 23-22 before Flint crushed a ball for the 24th point and Krautmann ripped a service ace to put an exclamation point on a historic moment for the Cardinals.
“I play three sports and haven’t gone past the first round in all three. This is the first time and it feels great doing it,” said Flint of going to the CIF Finals.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Bennett. “It’s such a great team. They’re great kids; I’ve had such a wonderful time working with them and, like I keep saying, we’re just trying to practice one more time, and now we get to practice four more times, so we’re really excited about that. We’re hoping for good things on Friday. This our first appearance in a championship game for boys volleyball, so hopefully we can cash it in.”
