The San Marcos boys volleyball team put on a show Tuesday night at the Thunderhut, picking up a crucial 3-0 win over crosstown rival Dos Pueblos in straight sets and setting the stage for Thursday night’s battle against Santa Barbara High that will decide the Channel League crown.
With the win, the Royals improved to 20-6 overall with a 5-1 league record while the Chargers fell to 14-7-1 overall with an even 3-3 mark in league play.
Following the unblemished victory, which consisted of set scores of 25-16, 25-18, 25-21, San Marcos head coach Roger Kuntz said his team was “as perfectly balanced offensively as we have been all year.”
Junior Luke Walker and senior Zach Willbanks each had 10 kills to pace the Royals offense, with Walker having an outstanding .444 hitting percentage, while sophomore Jack Wilson added seven kills and senior Aiden Pazier six.
“The energy and just the depth of our team was great tonight,” Walker told Noozhawk after the game.
“ I felt like our whole team was just everyone doing their job. Everyone was hustling, everyone was picking each other up, and the energy was just good the whole night.”
Junior Hansen Streeter had another solid performance as well, turning in 35 assists.
“A big part of our offense is our setter, Hansen,” Walker said. “That’s how volleyball is; he sets the pace for the game. It’s similar to a quarterback in football. He decides who gets the ball, when they get the ball and he just knows when to run certain players and what situations to run them in.”
“He’s just a really smart player. He puts our offense together.”
The Royals were dominant from start to finish in the contest as well, falling behind but always coming back to take the lead and staying in front.
The difference on Tuesday, Kuntz said, was the defense. Senior Colin Earls turned in 10 digs while Walker added nine, each contributing wonderful plays to keep possession alive.
“I thought we played better defense tonight,” Kuntz said. “I saw us flying around on the floor, making athletic plays all night.”
San Marcos trailed early in the first set, at 4-1 and later 11-9, but once they tied the set at 11-11 they took over, rallying for 14 of the next 19 points to take the first set convincingly.
In the second frame, the Royals were dominant from the start, taking a lead at 4-3 and never looking back, at one point stringing together 11 of 14 points to take a commanding 22-11 lead.
Dos Pueblos rallied to try to cut into the deficit, getting as close as six, trailing 17-23, but the Royals would take the set 25-18.
But even though they won the first two sets, Kuntz and the team knew that the third set would not be easy.
“It’s hard to sweep a crosstown rival,” Kuntz said.
“The last time we played it went four sets and the last game was 26-24, and we just kind of leaked away. But these guys, we had our best practice yesterday and we came out of practice to this game the same way, and so I was really pleased with them. I couldn’t be happier.”
The third set was the closest of them all, with both teams going back and forth, and Dos Pueblos holding the largest lead at one point, 10-6.
The Royals retaliated by taking five straight points to take an 11-10 lead, but the Chargers kept on fighting, eventually leading 20-18 at one point deep into the frame.
San Marcos would rip off three straight points, and then at 21-21, sealed the game by winning the final four, the last two courtesy of Walker, to end the game.
Now, the team can focus on the chance for a title against unbeaten in Channel League Santa Barbara (6-0).
“We didn’t want to think ahead because of tonight because this would have not put us in the driver’s seat,” Kuntz said. “But this win was key to our having an opportunity to have a chance to win league on Thursday. We’ve got Santa Barbara coming in here and we like playing teams in the Thunderhut.”
Walker was just as confident as his coach, saying his team “will beat them at home” and avenge the five-set loss they suffered to the Dons earlier this season.
“I think we got way more depth, a lot more energy, a lot more hustle and defense,” Walker said.
“In that last game, I think we didn’t play our game. Our middles were off which are a huge part of our offense. If we can just get our middle swinging a little against them, we’re going to win. … It would be incredible to beat them. I have watched SB/SM games since I was a kid, my older brother played here. That was always the big game, and we rarely won that game. A lot of it’s just the mentality of like, the Dons are so scary, those are the bad guys, but we really can beat them this year. I’m thinking it is the year to do it.”