The Bishop Diego boys volleyball team isn’t well-stocked with club players, but the Cardinals do have some exceptional multi-sport athletes who are accustomed to playing against strong competition.
They showed out on Wednesday against perennial power San Marcos and gave the defending Channel League champions and current leaders a fierce battle in a rare boys volleyball matchup between the two schools at the Brick House Gym.
San Marcos worked hard to pull out a 25-17, 28-26, 20-25, 25-18 non-league win against a spirited Bishop squad.
“Hats off to the Cardinals, they came ready to play,” said San Marcos coach Dave Goss. “They have two superstars in John Michael (Flint) and Damien Krautmann; they are athletically gifted and can do a lot on the court.”
Flint, a star receiver and captain on the football team, and Krautmann, a basketball standout and team captain, combined for 45 kills to give the San Marcos defense a workout. Krautmann led the way with a double-double of 24 kills and 11 digs; Flint put away 21 kills and setter Luke Walters picked up 10 digs.
The aggressive play of Krautmann and Flint set the tone for the Cardinals (14-4). They were not going to be intimidated by the potent Royals (17-2).
“They definitely don’t intend to finesse other teams,” said Bennett of his two big outside hitters. “They’re out there to hit the ball. We want to play big-boy men’s volleyball and it starts with being physical at the net. They’re not afraid to take big swings in big moments. We made a few too many hitting errors but I don’t think that cost us the match. I think San Marcos raised the level of their play and got more physical than us from the service line. And, we’re not used to a lot of those swings coming back.”
San Marcos had a balanced attack, led by a career-high 16 kills (on a .433 hitting percentage) from outside hitter Owen Willer. Matteo Burdick put away 13 kills, Jamie Hetrick notched 11 and middle Owen Heath had a career night with seven kills on 10 swings and no errors for a .700 average.
“I have to commend Owen Willer for leading the way,” said Goss of the junior.
San Marcos controlled the first set. They capitalized on Bishop hitting errors and got kills from Burdick and Tyler Walker to go on an 8-0 run for commanding 16-9 lead.
The Cardinals picked up their game in the second set and tied the score at 11 before Walker fed Hetrick on a pair of successful middle attacks to spark an 11-2 San Marcos run for a 22-13 advantage. The Royals reached game point (24-15), but the momentum turned after a crushing putaway by Flint. He went back to the service line and reeled off eight straight points, while Krautmann took charge at the net, blasting balls past the San Marcos block. He posted a pair of side-out kills to tie the score at 25 and 26.
Bishop had a chance to pull even again at 27, but San Marcos picked up a tip and Burdick converted it into set-winning kill for a 2-0 advantage.
The Cardinals made some adjustments in their attack and won the third set — their first-ever set win in a boys varsity match against San Marcos. Krautmann recorded back-to-back kills to break a 16-16 tie and delivered four more kills down the stretch in their 25-20 victory.
Bishop continued to push San Marcos in the fourth set. The score was tied at 9 before Heath and Willer put balls away to give the Royals the lead for good. The Cardinals got within one (14-13) after a terrific one-armed dig by Luca Moreno Murphy followed by a Krautmann kill. But Hetrick answered for San Marcos with a kill and a block for a three-point cushion.
The Tri-Valley League leaders wouldn’t get any closer.
Goss commended the play of Bishop Diego.
“They’re a really well-coached team, they had a good game plan against us on where they directed their attack and their serves, and they had success with that game plan.”
Bennett was pleased how his team rose to the occasion against a high-level opponent.
“We really don’t have a lot of club players. We have guys who play two to three sports and they’re accustomed to playing at a high level in their other sports and it’s starting to trickle into volleyball,” he said. “They’re starting to understand the game and how to play. I really believe we got a great team out there. I’m excited to see where it goes.
“Outside of game one, we were in the match the whole time,” he added. “It’s a great indicator of things to come for our group. We’re hoping to build off of that. San Marcos is a great team, they’re going to compete for a (CIF) Division 1 or 2 championship. That’s not our goal, we want to compete for Division 4, 5 or 6.
“And if we can compete against one of the top teams in the Southern Section, we feel really good about what we’re doing.”