The Malibu High boys’ volleyball team dug deep and knocked off Bishop Diego 25-20, 25-20, 26-24 on April 17 for its fourth victory in its last five contests. The win moved the Sharks into sole possession of third place in the Tri-Valley League. The top three teams in the TVL qualify automatically for the CIF playoffs.
The Sharks showed grit and determination to fend off a pesky Cardinal squad that was looking to avenge loss to Malibu from earlier in the season. Instead, MHS swept Bishop Diego in what coaches and players say was a confidence-booster as the postseason looms in the coming weeks.
“Tonight was our most complete game. We have played at a higher level, but we haven’t played as consistent as today,” Malibu Coach Carlos Gray said. “I was very proud of the defensive effort and we had excellent balance tonight. This is a big development for us. Early in the year we were solely relying on Parker (Smith) to bail us out of certain situations. We are not doing that anymore. Guys are stepping up.”
Parker Smith, a two-time All-League selection, and Joseph Gray each had 11 kills. Chris Pappauassiliou contributed 32 assists and Jonathan Baldwin added 15 digs for Malibu. Smith said the win was big for the team’s confidence.
“It was a huge win. We never got down on ourselves,” Smith said. “We have a lot of confidence. We just need to get more consistent, especially in crucial moments in the matches.”
Indeed, consistency was the difference between the two schools in this match. The Sharks had 13 kills in each set while forcing 25 total errors by the Cardinals. Malibu (8-6, 5-3) won the first two sets mostly comfortably. Each time Bishop Diego threatened, the Sharks countered with a key point to maintain the advantage.
Not until the third set did things begin to heat up. Tied at 18 apiece, Bishop Diego (1-9, 0-8) scored on a kill. One of the Cardinal players celebrated by directing a taunt across the net at the Sharks. The one-point advantage was short lived as the gesture fired up the Malibu squad.
Joseph Gray received a nice pass from Pappauassiliou and slammed down a powerful kill off the chest of a Bishop Diego player. Smith followed with a block and a kill to give the lead back to Malibu as the Sharks went on a 6-2 run en route to the third set victory.
The Malibu players said the unsportsmanlike behavior helped provide a spark and momentum for them to capture a big win at home.
“There were a lot of emotions in this match,” Pappauassiliou said. “They had one player shooting remarks at us. But we focused and got down to business. We just used that to beat them. We played hard and came out on top.”
Coach Gray called a timeout after the incident to relax his team and instruct his players to continue to play the right way with class and integrity.
“The kids responded to that. I expect our kids to play hard and to play the right way,” Gray said. “There is no talking and there is no disrespectful behavior by us. We will make them play and we will turn around and celebrate with our teammates on our side. We don’t do anything through the net. Bottom line is that these are young adults and you need to teach them the right way.”
Malibu has won four of its last five matches, after dropping a match to Oak Park two days after the victory over Bishop Diego. The Sharks now enter the homestretch of their league schedule beginning Thurs., April 26 at 6:30 p.m. at Oaks Christian. The Lions currently reside in second place. A third place-finish guarantees Malibu an automatic berth into the CIF playoffs.
“It’s going to be a good finish to the end of this season,” Pappauassiliou said.