Cole Arutian and his Dos Pueblos teammates know how important passing is in volleyball, and they controlled the ball like Jedi Knights in Thursday’s 25-16, 25-22, 25-15 sweep of San Marcos at the Thunderhut.
“Without passing we seem to break down a lot, so when we get those nice passes up we can set Brian (Schoneberger) and Cody (Zoesch) in the middle and it’s pretty much a guaranteed kill,” said Arutian, the Chargers’ libero.
The 6-foot-8 Zoesch put away eight of the 10 kills that came his way in the middle and Schoneberger finished off six of his nine sets on the night. Jordon Dyer went 8-for-9 on the outside. Whether it was the passing of Arutian, the setting of Tim Baxter or the hitting in the middle, DP played a match that sparkled with consistency.
“I knew from day one with my team that we had very good ball control,” said coach Chris Hughes. “San Marcos is definitely bigger than us, but ball control wins games and I’ve always preached that. Our passing was great, which makes your setting great which makes your hitting great. I thought it was Cole’s best match as a passer, and that opens up everything.”
San Marcos, meanwhile, is going through a tough transition after finding out that star player Andrew Grimes will miss the rest of the season due to academic ineligibility.
“My players just kind of took it on the chin…. A couple of them said ‘What do we do now’ but the rest said said ‘Hey, it’s time to step it up’,” said coach Roger Kuntz.
Sophomore Jackson Kunz did just that, tallying four kills and showing confidence on the court in his first varsity match. Captain Erik Holliday was the floor general he’s been all season, putting away seven kills with a pair of blocks and two digs while also running the offense at setter.
“Jackson’s a star for us on the JV and with Andrew out he stepped into that role and did a real nice job for us,” said Kuntz. “And Erik continues to be a leader for us both on and off the court. He’s the valedictorian here and he really picks guys up and plays hard all the time.”
With four players at 6-foot-4 or above, Kuntz said that he’s going to try to implement a lineup which includes three middle blockers over the next week or so.
Baxter, who energetically dished out on-target sets all night, went on a 7-point service run in the first set to boost DP to a 15-6 lead that stayed comfortable all the way home.
A kill by Holliday had the Royals (12-8, 1-1 Channel League) up 21-20 in the second game, but Zoesch responded with an off-speed shot from way above the net to tie it back up. The frame would end on a long-range floating ace by Dillan Bennett and a solo block by Zoesch, who has improved tremendously according to teammates.
“We can’t even dig him in practice,” said Bennett. “It’s pretty interesting from a defensive view to look up at Cody hitting down at you.”
Bennett would go on a 7-point serving run of his own as the Chargers (9-3, 3-0) took a 9-1 lead in the third, and Will McCracken would add two aces and a couple of booming kills down the stretch to seal things up.
The Chargers host Santa Ynez while the Royals play at Santa Barbara on Tuesday before both teams head into the Santa Barbara High/Karch Kiraly Tournament of Champions.
