Bishop Diego served 22 aces on the way to a 3-0 Tri-Valley League opening win over Cate Tuesday, 25-11, 25-8, 25-17.
Liam Flood led the way with 10 aces, while Logo Va’a had seven kills and Austin Carty five.
“Cate has a strong core of young and talented freshmen and sophomores who, if they stick with it, will be TVL contenders after a few seasons under their belt,” Bishop Diego coach Dillan Bennett said. “The set scores did not reflect the quality of play tonight.”
“For us, we continue to get better with the guys we have. Austin and Sauileone Faiga set in a 6-2 for the first time this year tonight, and I was pleased with how each of them ran the offense.
“At the end of the day, we harp on our physicality from the service line; when we serve the ball tough and in bounds, I’ll take us against anybody. But, if we have nights when we can’t find the court, we’re going to have a hard time winning games.
The Cardinals improve to 1-3 overall, 1-0 in the TVL, and head to Rio Mesa Thursday before traveling to the Chadwick Tournament on Saturday.
Santa Ynez 2, Bishop Diego 1
Santa Ynez prevailed over Bishop Diego 2-1 in girls beach volleyball Tuesday.
The Cardinals’ Eliana and Alina Urzua won their match in a 2-0 sweep, but the Bishop teams of Emma Coglizer and Sonia Mancuso and Sage Thorne-Thomsen and Sofia Parisotto lost.
The Cardinals face Buena at 3 p.m. Thursday at East Beach.
Laguna Blanca 3, St. Bonaventure 0
The Laguna Blanca boys won their Tri-Valley League opener Tuesday with a sweep over St. Bonaventure, 25-17, 25-12, 25-18.
Jack Shiebler had 39 assists for the Owls, and Freddie Russell led in kills with 11. Thomas Couvillion and Ganden Walker had eight kills apiece.
Libero Miles Sedlin led the way with steady serve-receive passing and Jack Shiebler set a balanced offense, assistant coach Kat Niksto said.
Laguna Blanca plays Cate at home on Thursday at 5 p.m.