An early-season litmus test to open Tri-Valley League play pushed the Bishop Diego and Laguna Blanca girls’ volleyball teams to their limits.
The Cardinals narrowly avoided a reverse sweep on their home floor, capturing a gritty five-set victory, 25-17, 25-23, 18-25, 22-25, 15-12, at the sweltering Brick House on Tuesday night.
“We talk a lot about volleyball not being a beauty contest. It does not have to be pretty to score a point,” said Bishop Diego coach Dillan Bennett. “Two of the areas we are going to have to be exceptional in this year are playing defense and then serving.”
Karina Urzua delivered a memorable all-around performance, boosting her team to victory with 25 kills, 23 digs, and four aces. She is a setter by trade but has assumed the role of primary threat on the outside for the Cardinals and thrived in the process.
“I think it’s a fun opportunity for me, because in club volleyball, I just set, so I think it’s fun to try some new stuff and build some new tools,” Urzua said.
After a relatively easy first set for Bishop Diego, Laguna Blanca showed signs of life in the second set. Marritt Blabey tied the score at 23-23 with a kill, but Urzua closed out the second set for Bishop Diego with a kill and an ace, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 set lead.
In the third set, Laguna Blanca jumped out to an 8-2 lead on another kill by Blabey. Bishop Diego clawed back into the set, cutting its deficit to 16-15 on a kill by Urzua, but that’s as close as the Cardinals would come, as Laguna Blanca finished the third set strong to stay alive.
“She’s definitely become our vocal leader very early in this year,” said Laguna Blanca coach Stevens of the junior Blabey, who finished with a team-high 15 kills. “We’ve had a lot of conversations about her role. Offensively, she was probably our best player tonight, too, which helps. When your best player on the court is also your loudest and working hard, everybody else kind of follows that. We just have to find a way to do that at the beginning and not come back in the third and do it.”
The fourth set went back and forth, but an ace serve by Greta Alldredge gave the Owls a 22-21 lead. Laguna Blanca capitalized on Bishop Diego errors down the stretch to force a fifth and final set.
An ace serve by Blabey gave Laguna Blanca a 7-4 lead in the fifth set, but Bishop Diego refused to go away. An ace serve by Abbie Hubbs cut the Cardinals’ deficit to 9-8. Bishop Diego took a 10-9 lead after back-to-back Laguna Blanca hitting errors.
Natalie Chan closed out the match for Bishop Diego with her 15th and final kill. She also racked up 22 digs and three aces.
Both teams will continue Tri-Valley League play on Thursday, as Bishop Diego will take on Villanova Prep at the Brick House and Laguna Blanca will host St. Bonaventure.
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