The San Marcos Royals were crowned champions of the 46th Annual Dos Pueblos Invitational Saturday after going a perfect 6-0 in pool play and playoffs.
And that after a grueling five-set loss to Santa Barbara the night before.
“I was beyond proud of our team and coaches as they recovered back from a long battle Friday night and returned to playing elite volleyball on Saturday at the UCSB Events Center,” San Marcos coach Roger Kuntz said.
San Marcos was perfect in pool play with wins over Thousand Oaks, Windward, and Taft. Seeded number No. 1 in the playoffs, the Royals then beat South Pasadena, Hart in the semis, and St. Francis in the finals.
The Royals’ Jack Wilson was named tournament MVP, and libero Cliff Ficker and senior opposite and captain Luke Walker Walker were named to the All-Tournament Team. Senior captain and setter Hansen Streeter and junior outside Mason Rice were Honorable Mentions, after both made All-Tournament Team last year when San Marcos was a finalist last year at the DPI.
“We played great as a team today, and returned to the process of improving our court play!” Kuntz said. “Our coaching staff (Matt Walker) made some minor changes to our rotations and we improved at the service line and receiving serve.
“We felt we only brought our B game into the gym Friday night and our opponents today saw what we are capable of!”
The Royals, ranked 13th in CIF-SS Division 1/2, are 16-3 overall and 4-1 in Channel League play as they travel to league foe Buena on Tuesday night.
Dos Pueblos
The Chargers went 3-0 in pool play and was beaten by Valencia, 25-22, in a one-game quarterfinal.
Dos Pueblos defeated Oaks Christian (25-18, 25-14), Cabrillo (25-9, 25-12) and South Pasadena (25-21, 26-24) to advance out of pool play.
Laguna Blanca
The Owls went 1-2 in pool play at the invitational, with losses to Capistrano Valley Christian (25-23, 13-25, 15-13) and Hart (25-21, 25-14) and a win over El Camino Real (25-18, 25-23).
That put them in a tie for third place, and the Owls won the tiebreaker to finish second and advance to the championship playoff bracket. There were eliminated by St. Francis, 25-15, 25-21, in the quarterfinals.
Laguna Blanca was led by Thomas Couvillion with 30 kills, 10 digs, and three blocks. Tyson Deveze added 28 kills and 10 digs. Kincade Avery had 12 kills and five blocks.
Liam Knezevic had 74 assists, 13 digs and three blocks. Caden Weaver led in digs with 21.
“It was a great day of high level competition for our team; we got better today and learned from both our wins and losses,” Laguna assistant coach Kat Niksto said. “We are proud to have advanced out of a very tough pool into the Championship bracket.”
The school goes on spring break for two weeks, and picks up conference play again in early April.
Bishop Diego
After a sweep on the road at Malibu Friday night, the Cardinals struggled to get it going in the DP Invitational. Bishop Diego lost to Palisades, Royal, and Quartz Hill in straight sets.
Braylon Katers led the Cardinals in the three matches with 19 kills. John Michael Flint added 10 kills and 19 digs.
“We’re happy with the improvements made this week,” Bishop Diego coach Dillan Bennett said. “At times, we’ve looked very strong. Today, we’re thankful to make it out without injury and in good spirits. We faced tough challenges all day, and while the level of play was high, we remained competitive.”
The Cardinals fall to 8-5 overall. They are 3-1 in the Tri-Valley League. They host Paraclete on Tuesday.