The Bishop Diego combination of John Michael Flint and Damien Krautmann gave the San Marcos High boys’ volleyball team a stiff test, but their combined production wasn’t enough for the Cardinals to pull off the upset.
The Royals upped their game down the stretch and grinded out a 25-17, 28-26, 23-25, 25-18 victory on Wednesday night at the Brick House.
“Hats off to the Cardinals; they came ready to play. They have two superstars in Flint and Krautmann,” said San Marcos coach Dave Goss. “They are athletically gifted and can do a lot on the floor.”
Krautmann finished with a game-high 24 kills and 11 digs. Flint wasn’t far behind with 21 kills.
San Marcos got off to a strong start and took a 17-10 lead in set one on a kill by Owen Willer, who finished with a team-high 16 kills on a .433 hitting percentage.
UCSB commit Matteo Burdick extended the San Marcos lead to 21-12 with an ace, and the Royals clinched the opening set, 25-17, when Burdick cleaned up an errant Bishop Diego pass.
In set two, San Marcos jumped out to a 22-13 lead before Bishop Diego staged a huge rally to tie the score at 24-24 after back-to-back kills by Krautmann.
The two teams went back and forth until a kill by San Marcos setter Tyler Walker gave the Royals a 26-25 lead. Burdick followed with a kill that clinched a 2-0 set lead for San Marcos.
“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,” Goss said of the Cardinals’ surge that began in the second set.
Bishop Diego’s confidence continued into the third set as the Cardinals took a 23-19 lead on a spike by Krautmann that split the block; however, San Marcos used back-to-back kills by Willer to cut its deficit to 24-23.
After a Bishop Diego timeout, Flint extended the match with a well-placed tap over the San Marcos block.
The fourth set remained competitive, with both teams trading points early. San Marcos eventually pulled ahead behind timely kills from Owen Heath and Willer. Bishop Diego briefly closed the gap to one point, highlighted by a remarkable defensive play from Luca Moreno Murphy, followed by another Krautmann kill. Still, San Marcos responded and maintained control to close out the match on a Heath kill.
Despite the loss, Bishop Diego demonstrated strong preparation and execution, effectively targeting serves and attacks. The Cardinals showed growth and confidence against one of the top teams in the Southern Section.
“Outside of game one, we were in the match the whole time,” said Bishop Diego coach Dillan Bennett. “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.”
With the victory, San Marcos improves to 17-2 overall. Bishop Diego’s record dropped to 14-4.
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