San Marcos had a battle on its hands against visiting St. Joseph on Wednesday.
The Knights pushed the Channel League co-leaders before falling in three sets at the Thunderhut. The 26-24, 25-21, 25-23 sweep improved the Royals’ season record to 20-3.
St. Joseph is 22-5 on the season.
“Their coaches reached out to me and they wanted to play some tougher competition at this time of their season,” said San Marcos coach Roger Kuntz. “It was a great opportunity for us, coming out of a week off for Spring Break, to play a very good team.
“And they did not disappoint. They were solid on the pins, at setter, and they had very big middle hitters. They were extremely well coached, and we built a relationship to continue for next season.”
Luke Walker led San Marcos with 18 kills on 24 attempts, “and was automatic from the backside of our offense as he has been all year,” praised Kuntz.
Mason Rice and Jack Wilson each contributed 12 kills and were solid in serve receive. Cameron Earls and Hansen Streeter shared the setting duties as Earls set game one and Streeter two and three.
The Royals, ranked 13th in the latest CIF-SS combined Division 1-2 poll, will travel Monday to play at Pacifica in Oxnard.