The San Marcos and Bishop Diego girls volleyball teams were both listed on the CIF-Southern Section’s preseason watch list in their respective divisions this week.
When the neighboring schools got together for a rare meeting on Thursday, Division 7 Bishop Diego put up a good fight in the first set. But the Division 3 Royals played steadier and had more firepower, and took a 25-21, 25-9, 25-19 decision before a masked large crowd at Bishop’s Brick House Gym.
A side-out kill by Alina Urzua pulled Bishop Diego to 22-21 and had Cardinal fans pumped up in the first set. But a service error followed by a hitting error put San Marcos at set point, and freshman Elena Thomas ended it with a block.
The Royals carried the momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 6-2 lead. They continued to score points in bunches as Bishop struggled with its ball control. They ended the set with setter Ava Cole serving eight straight points.
Bishop picked up its game in the third set behind the hitting of 5-foot-11 freshman Eliana Urzua. She finished with a match-high 12 kills, including some hits from the back row. She also went to the floor for some impressive digs, showing that she has an all-around game.
Bishop Diego freshman Eliana Urzua pounds the ball down the line against San Marcos. Urzua led all hitters with 12 kills. (Gary Kim / Noozhawk photo)
Eliana’s play impressed longtime San Marcos co-coach Dwayne Hauschild.
“Eliana played awesome for her freshman effort,” he said. “She was obviously the focal point of their offense, but her sister (senior Aliana) was awesome as well. It’s kind of fun to watch those girls flourish.”
Eliana has played in just two high school matches and she’s been the kill leader in both for the Cardinals (1-1).
San Marcos went on a 6-3 run to take a 20-13 lead in the third set, and Riley Green finished the match with a blistering kill.
Cole did a nice job spreading around the San Marcos attack. Outside hitter Kate Edgar led the Royals (2-0) with nine kills, Thomas had seven kills and Devyn Brunet added four off the bench.
San Marcos middle Eloise McGibbon also played solid match hitting and blocking.
“She’s a force,” said Hauschild. “Without seeing what everybody else has she’s definitely one of the hardest hitters in the (Channel) league, in my opinion.”
Kate Edgar of San Marcos splits the Bishop Diego block of Eliana Urzua (17) and Kylie Zimmerman. (Gary Kim / Noozhawk photo)
Bishop Diego coach Dillan Bennett appreciated San Marcos accepting the invitation to play the match.
“We are thankful San Marcos came over to play, and hopefully we learned from this experience,” said Bennett, who has the Royals playing in his Cardinal Classic Tournament on Saturday at Bishop and the Page Youth Center.
Hauschild said staying in town and playing against Bishop was good for the Royals.
“You got a good coaching staff over there. You got (Steve) Zelko, you got (Ed) Gover and Dillan; one our former players, Carly Yarnell, is helping out. They’re well coached here and they’re well managed. This is a great facility and it was a great opportunity for their kids.
“But from our standpoint,” he added, “it was great to be local, get some reps, get everybody in and try a ton of different people in different locations and still be successful.”
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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