Bishop Diego boys volleyball earned a three-set crosstown sweep over Cate School on Tuesday at the Brick House, 27-25, 25-14, 25-13.
The matchup was a crucial one for the Tri-Valley League playoff race, as Bishop Diego, Cate and St. Bonaventure are vying for the final two postseason spots.
“Things came together nicely tonight,” Bishop Diego coach Dillan Bennett said. “We had to start in a bit of a different lineup due to available players, but the team responded well. Our defense came around with more effort than the last few matches, and our play at the net was much improved.”
After a tight first set, the Cardinals cruised to double-digit victories in the final two to clinch the win.
Will Neubauer turned in a great performance as the setter in Bishop Diego’s 5-1 offense, collecting 24 assists, five aces, three kills and two digs.
Defensively, Harry Hayman led the charge with 14 digs as Bishop Diego turned in a season-high 32 digs as a team.
“I was very pleased with Will’s play tonight from the service line and moving our hitters around,” Bennett said. “Harry also played a focused match defensively, and our blockers did a great job identifying hitters, matching up and taking away space at the net.”
Four players registered seven or more kills for the Cardinals in a balanced offensive attack: Thomas Gaggs (8), Damien Krautmann (8), Leshawn Cruz (8) and John Michael Flint (7).
For the Rams, Henry Bouma had a strong night at the net with several strong kills and four blocks.
“We felt ready and came in with high hopes and confidence but even as close as the first set was, we just couldn’t get our groove on,” Cate coach KC Collins said. “In the second and third sets, our passing and defense stalled and we had trouble moving the ball around and putting balls down past Bishop’s consistent defense.
“We tried to make some adjustments in the lineup to add variety, but everyone seemed to scramble, couldn’t quite get the right play on the ball, couldn’t get momentum on our side and everything just went flat.”
The Cardinals (10-13, 4-3 TVL) will host Foothill Tech on Thursday while the Rams will take on Dunn at home on Thursday.
