Andrew Grimes’ 21 kills proved lethal in a five-game trial for San Marcos against Carpinteria on Thursday night. In that key fifth game, Neil Greene served the Royals to a 6-0 lead, and Danny Nguyen closed with four more tough serves to end a tense Warriors comeback.
Carpinteria’s Derek Castillo got the Royals in trouble throughout the evening with his potent jump serves and consistent power at the net.
San Marcos won the match, 3-2, on a scores of 20-25, 25-12, 25-18, 20-25, 15-9. The win gives San Marcos a 3-1 record on the season. The Royals travel to San Luis Obispo on Tuesday, and host Oxnard on Thursday.
In the junior varsity match, San Marcos freshman Jackson Kunz was strong when it counted in two close games against Carpinteria. Dillon Kraus again steadied the Royals at the Libero position, passing and digging beautifully throughout the match. Final scores were 25-22, 26-24.
Meanwhile, San Marcos freshman Ben McKenzie led the Royals’ frosh/soph team to a two-game sweep of Laguna Blanca’s junior varsity squad, 25-18, 25-22.