The San Marcos High boys’ volleyball team was in deep trouble after falling behind in a road match against rival Dos Pueblos, but UCSB commit Matteo Burdick found another gear and sparked the Royals to a 19-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-14, 15-5 victory on Thursday night.
Burdick’s fourth-set serving run turned a 4-0 San Marcos deficit into a 9-4 San Marcos lead and shifted the match permanently in the Royals’ favor.
“Overall, Matteo was just excellent from the serving line,” said San Marcos head coach Dave Goss. “When he wasn’t getting aces, he was getting them way out of system, and then our pin blockers did a pretty good job, especially in games four and five.”
Dos Pueblos took control early in set one behind effective float serving that kept San Marcos out of system. An ace by Owen Andrews gave the Chargers a 9-5 lead, and a solo block by Caleb Damron increased the lead to 11-5, forcing a San Marcos time-out.
The Royals never recovered from the early deficit, and Dos Pueblos clinched a 1-0 set lead on a San Marcos hitting error.
An ace serve by Burdick gave the Royals a 5-3 lead in set two, and San Marcos built its lead to 12-6 on a dump by setter Tyler Walker. Walker finished with six dumps for kills, keeping the Dos Pueblos defense on its toes throughout the match.
“This is year three. I’ve dumped a lot. I know the game well enough to know where to dump at this point,” Walker said. “If I keep going in the middle, eventually, the backside will open up so I can dump back there.”
San Marcos went on to even the match at one set apiece on a solo block by Owen Heath.
However, Dos Pueblos came out with renewed vigor in set three and took a 13-8 lead when Cyrus Jay cleaned up an errant San Marcos pass.
Senior outside hitter Ben Wojogbe flashed his versatility with a spike from the back row that put the Chargers ahead 21-17. Wojogbe finished with a team-high 11 kills.
Dos Pueblos took a 2-1 set lead after a San Marcos hitting error and carried that momentum into set four, taking a 4-0 lead on a kill by Wojogbe.
With the crowd serenading him with “overrated” chants, Burdick stepped to the serving line and flipped the match on its head. Back-to-back aces tied the set at four apiece, and Burdick’s third ace of the run gave San Marcos a 6-4 lead.
Burdick’s fourth ace of the set gave San Marcos an 8-4 lead, and he followed that up with a spike off a Dos Pueblos blocker’s head that struck the ceiling, giving the Royals a 9-4 lead.
“With Matteo, I would say, ‘Don’t poke the bear,’” Walker said. “Matteo is really good, but when he gets motivated, it is a completely different level of serving and passing. He is probably the best player I’ve ever played with.”
The momentum of Burdick’s serving run boosted San Marcos to a dominant fourth set as the Royals evened the match at two sets apiece on a cross-court spike by Owen Miller.
The Royals jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the fifth set on an ace serve by Burdick and never looked back. San Marcos went on to clinch set five and the match on an ace by Miller.
With the victory, San Marcos improved to 8-2 overall and 3-0 in Channel League play. Dos Pueblos dropped to 7-3 overall and 2-1 in the Channel League
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