Serra spikes Irish in four games

After a slow start, the Padres started to heat up. Their offensive firepower was there from the start, but it was their defense that keyed the comeback victory. After a lackluster Game 1, Serra started to get a lot more touches at the net on the Sacred Heart Cathedral (3-9, 16-17) attacks.

That propelled the Padres in the final three games. They were never seriously threatened in that span, going wire to wire in Game 3 and leading by comfortable margins in Games 2 and 4. Serra's 6-foot-3 outside hitter Ryan Stagnaro (12 kills, five hitting errors), one of the hardest hitters in the Central Coast Section, set the tone when he delivered a facial three points in.

Stagnaro, who went up for a kill on the right side, hit the ball so hard that you could hear the slapping sound as the ball ricochet off the face of SHC's Angel Rodriguez.

Stagnaro delivered a couple of more highlight-reel moments early in Game 4. He hit a ball left-handed for a kill -- Stagnaro is a righty -- then pointed to his left bicep. Two points later, he got a quick set and hammered a shot off the face of another Fightin' Irish player, drawing oohs and ahhs from his friends in attendance.

"I've been on the other end (of facials), and it's not fun," Serra coach Chris Balestrieri said. "Ryan is a dominant player. He was a little off today, but when he's on, watch out."

Padres setter Jason Dunn finished with 56 assists and seven kills, libero Elliott Lanam had 21 digs, and Dylan Carey (nine kills), Kevin Brazil (five kills, three blocks) and Tommy McEnery had five kills and a game-high three service aces. Serra showed its hustle and defensive prowess in Game 3, highlighted by tremendous digs from Brett McCollum, who made a dig while ending up on his teammates on the sideline, and Dunn, who produced a one-fisted dig that most players wouldn't have got to.

In both cases, the plays led to Serra winning the point, just when it looked like Sacred Heart Cathedral had a big advantage. While the Padres have had a rough go of it in the rugged WCAL, they've played well in the last couple of weeks. If they win against St. Ignatius on Thursday, they'll clinch the No. 4 seed in next week's league tournament.

Balestrieri is a 2002 SI graduate and is 3-0 against his alma mater, but he knows the Wildcats will be out to spoil the Padres' party. He spent one year there as an assistant coach before arriving at Serra.

"The coach I played for is still coaching there, so it's always a nice reunion whenever we play them," Balestrieri said. "They're going to come out for blood and try to ruin our playoff seeding and possible CCS chase. The beginning part of the season was tough, with all the injuries. But over the past month, we've played pretty well. Tonight, we had a letdown in the first game but showed our dominance after that.

"I don't think they could match our offensive firepower. When we're on, we're a handful for other teams to handle. Another big thing for us is that our middles are really stepping up. A.C. (Cullins) is playing his first year and is a wide receiver on the football team. He was named MVP of the San Francisco tournament and adds a lot of athleticism and fire to our team. For the guys, it's a mental thing. They all believe in themselves now."

It shows with every spike.

Contact Emanuel Lee by e-mail: emanuel@smdailyjournal.com, or by phone: (650) 344 5200, ext. 109.