Dos Pueblos put together a compete volleyball match on Tuesday in a 25-20, 25-10, 25-19 sweep of San Marcos.
“I’m extremely pleased to beat a rival, and it was kind of a night-and-day game versus what we did (in a loss to Santa Barbara last week),” said coach Chris Hughes. “It was something these guys can be very proud of. We had great ball control and committed only 14 errors.”
San Marcos, meanwhile, couldn’t keep up its momentum long enough.
“I thought we played really well at times and had good firepower and good pace, but we weren’t able to stay at that level throughout,” said coach Roger Kuntz. “They served tougher and passed better, and that’s something we felt like we needed to do to win tonight.”
Will McCracken had 10 kills on 18 attempts with six blocks for the Chargers (18-8, 7-1 Channel League), while junior Jacob Badish ran the offense efficiently, according to Hughes. Gabe Duncan had four kills and three blocks (the first three Hughes has ever seen him tally), while Cole Arutian made an impact at the service line.
“Cole scored multiple points for us with the long serve. His serving made a huge difference,” said Hughes.
San Marcos was balanced, as Jackson Kunz had 10 kills, Johnny Manzo had eight and Zach Yinger chipped in six.
The Royals (12-9, 3-4) need to beat Ventura on Thursday to clinch the third and final playoff spot out of the Channel League. The Chargers, meanwhile, get to sit back until the postseason begins. It is Hughes’ first-ever Channel League championship in nine years at the helm.
