Damien Krautmann delivered the jump serve of his life as the ball lipped over the net and fell to the floor to clinch the CIF-SS Division 5 Championship for Bishop Diego.
The Cardinals overcame a late surge by St. Anthony of Long Beach to claim a 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23 victory, which serves as the first CIF Championship in program history.
“You can only score one point at a time in volleyball and it’s really easy to feel too much pressure to try to score these points in bunches,” said Bishop Diego coach Dillan Bennett. “They settled down, breathed and one point at a time is all it takes. They did that right there at the end of the match and I’m super proud of the way they closed that out.”
Bishop Diego came into the match with the mentality to serve its opponent off the court and that strategy came to fruition in the final point. Krautmann led the way with 24 kills and four aces. His fellow outside hitter John Michael Flint finished with 15 kills and four aces as that dynamic duo has shined throughout the playoffs.
“As soon as we got into that final timeout Damien looked at me and as he was saying ‘I got this’ I was saying ‘I know you got this, just like last time,’” said Bennett of Krautmann, who also clinched the semifinal victory over El Dorado with an ace serve. “He just gave me a fist bump and I knew it was going to be in his hands and it worked out.”
Serving pressure proved to be one of the decisive factors throughout the contest. Bishop Diego consistently forced St. Anthony out of system with aggressive serves, particularly during the opening two sets. Flint sparked a decisive run in the first set with consecutive aces that helped the Cardinals build a commanding advantage before Nico DeRosa closed the set with another ace.
St. Anthony responded in the second set by improving its serve reception and utilizing 6-foot-6 outside hitter Griffin Bass more effectively. The Saints built early leads of 7-2 and 11-7 before Bishop Diego rallied behind Roberts, whose serving run and timely attacks helped swing momentum back to the Cardinals. Bustos sealed the set with a one-handed block at the net.
The third set featured a back-and-forth battle as Bishop Diego erased another deficit and briefly took the lead on an ace from Luca Moreno Murphy. However, St. Anthony closed the set strongly to extend the match on a kill by Austin Luckey.
Drama intensified in the fourth set as Bishop Diego appeared poised to pull away several times, including a 13-8 lead on a spike by Krautmann. However, St. Anthony continued to pressure the Cardinals, capitalizing on several hitting errors to take a late 20-19 advantage.
After regrouping during a timeout, Bishop Diego regained control in the closing moments. Krautmann delivered a crucial side-out kill before Flint added another attack to restore the Cardinals’ lead. Following a tying point from St. Anthony, a Saints hitting error, gave Bishop Diego match point and set the stage for the championship-winning serve.
“Luke’s a great setter, he sets it away from them and mixes it up,” said Krautmann of his setter Luke Walters. “He got the middle involved and then me and John got open from the block.”
The Cardinals improved to 29-7 on the season and now await the CIF State Tournament draw, with opening-round matches scheduled to begin Tuesday.
Coach Dillan Bennett earned his second CIF volleyball title at Bishop Diego after previously leading the girls program to a championship in 2021.
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