The Pirates hosted Bishop Diego on March 9 in their home opener. “Bishop beat us last year and they have a big, tall club experienced program so I thought we might have trouble, but we started out so well and kept them reacting all night,” said Coach Fenenga.
On the second point of the game, Wyatt Garley nailed a pass that setter Kristian Squires (12 assists and 1 kill) floated outside to the high- jumping Andrew Wolinsky, who hammered the ball down the line over the block into the Cardinals’ setter for a point.
“That was one of the hardest, best hits I’ve seen here in 18 years and set a great tone for us,” said Coach Fenenga. “That was just an explosion that sent a message.” The Pirates took game one 25-13 and the second game 25-14. With Dane Bolitho running the offense, the Pirates had Garley hit for 10 kills and 5 aces, Clay Adam 3 kills and Wolinsky added 14 kills with 6 aces. Bolitho dished out 18 assists and also added 6 kills and 3 aces in a leadership role. The third game was closer and with the score tied at 24, Josh Avery put down one of his 6 kills. He then followed that up with a straight-down stuff block of their towering middle for the match-ending point, 26-24.
“I love how we are playing right now with a great chemistry and solid defense,” said Fenenga. “Marcos Cromack’s 2.3 passing average and 12 digs, Garley with 8 digs and Andrew Palmer adding 3 digs really steadies us.”
Tuesday night the Pirates’ junior varsity team had a thrilling three game win over Bishop Diego 26- 24, 31-33, 19-17. Russ Fenenga had a solid night setting with key kills from Mitchell Oaks, Mike Stinson and Jordan Hanly.
Said the coach: “The kids played great volleyball and performed well under tremendous pressure.”
The JV team defeated Dunn Varsity on Thursday, 3-0. All the Pirates were able to contribute with Colton Betts passing well, strong serving by Mike Shea and consistent setting from Cory Parmenter. Saturday, the team earned 2nd place at the Santa Maria JV Tournament in a long day of volleyball.
The Pirates were undefeated in pool play with wins over Pioneer Valley, Saint Joseph and Camarillo. In the playoffs, the Pirates defeated Arroyo Grande before falling in the one-game final 22-25 against Camarillo.
“Everyone contributed and we saw Andrew Rodriguez come in and serve some tough floaters along with consistent hitting by Austin Lippincott and Michael Stinson. Ethan Ooms and Mitchell Oaks had many key blocks. Russ Fenenga served brilliantly and moved the ball around well to take the semifinal playoff match, before the Pirates ran out of gas at the end.” The JV’s record now stands at a solid 7-2.
— Staff Report