Cathedral defeats Cardinals in four games

Bishop Diego had one of its best serving and passing matches of the young season, but visiting Cathedral City was exceptional in its ball control on Friday night, defeating the Cardinals 25-17, 19-25, 25-23, 25-21 at the Brickhouse.

“I thought we did a nice job tonight, but we faced a team that is scrappy and is never going to go away,” said Bishop coach Jason Donnelly. “They aren’t a big opponent, but they play exceptional defense and it’s very hard to get them out of system.”

Johnny Brand had 13 kills and Robert Connolly added 11 for the Cardinals, who had nine aces on the night despite Cathedral’s rock-solid passing game. Nic Mon shoveled up 11 digs, and Donnelly said that Brandon Gonzalez continued to make impressive hustle plays. Adam Inglehart came in and put away three kills on five swings for Bishop (6-4), which opens up pool play against Dos Pueblos in the DP Invitational at 8 a.m. Saturday.