SAN JOSE — In baseball, a triple-digit fastball may be virtually unhittable at instances.
In volleyball, the analog is when a hitter will get so sizzling, it virtually doesn’t matter what the opposing block does. Archbishop Mitty’s William Dryden approached that degree of excellence on Saturday throughout the CCS Open Division championship sport at Harker.
Dealing with off in opposition to St. Francis within the title match, the Monarchs known as upon Dryden 42 instances to complete off a degree. And he got here by way of 22 instances, keying Mitty’s early two-set lead.
After the Lancers responded with a good win in set three, the fourth set was anybody’s sport. Mitty got here by way of in additional factors, ending off a 3-1 win (25-18, 25-17, 23-25, 28-26) with a slender victory within the fourth set.
Archbishop Mitty’s E.J. Tejano #4 is hoisted to his toes after the Monarchs defeated St. Francis within the CCS Open Division Volleyball Championship on the Harker Faculty in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Might 17, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group)
The consequence was validation for the Monarchs, who had overwhelmed each staff they confronted within the Open bracket not less than as soon as this yr. Nonetheless, Mitty needed to exit and do it once more with the strain on.
It did, and now the Monarchs have their first boys volleyball part title since 2013.
“This whole season, we’ve been dominant,” mentioned Dryden, who’s dedicated to UC Santa Barbara. “We’ve beaten every team. We’ve beaten (St. Francis) three times, so it just felt how it should be. And then in that third set, we kind of crumbled a little bit. But we got back on it.”
Mitty (37-2) has sustained success this season regardless of the departure of coach Lacey Gera to maternity go away midseason. Assistant coach Gregg Gallegos stepped in to run the Monarchs’ practices and video games, they usually haven’t missed a beat.
Archbishop Mitty’s Oscar Klement #15 spikes in opposition to St. Francis within the CCS Open Division Volleyball Championship on the Harker Faculty in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Might 17, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group)
“We’ve been peaking at the right time,” Gallegos mentioned. “That’s for sure. We’re playing really good volleyball right now. Excited for NorCals, but it’s been a great season so far.”
Mitty is a powerhouse in seemingly nearly each sport, however it had been over a decade for the reason that Monarchs had even made a CCS closing in boys volleyball. Final yr, Mitty misplaced 3-1 to Santa Cruz within the Open semifinals.
This yr’s group wasn’t going to be denied.
“We have a very – most of the time – very mature group of guys, so they make it easy on me, and they’re just totally invested,” Gallegos mentioned. “They know that this season can be really special. They work super hard, and they totally deserve everything.”
Archbishop Mitty’s Oscar Klement #15 celebrates with teammates the ultimate level in a 3-1 victory over St. Francis within the CCS Open Division Volleyball Championship on the Harker Faculty in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Might 17, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group)
Junior Oscar Klement performed a supplementary function for the Monarchs, ending 11 kills with an environment friendly .368 hitting common. Regardless of Dryden’s starring function, it was a real staff effort for Mitty, a gifted group on a mission to forge a brand new legacy.
“We know that we can go out and beat literally any team, no matter what,” Dryden mentioned. “The end of the third set, we kind of just folded. We got a little too comfortable, and that was our problem. Once we realized that we actually had to keep going, keep trying hard, we got ‘em.”
St. Francis (24-14) is a proud program that has made three of the 4 Open finals contested, successful the title in 2022. The Lancers will nonetheless be a pressure to reckon with within the CIF NorCal match, however Mitty was a lower above on Saturday.
“I love those kind of WCAL championship battles,” St. Francis coach Jonah Carson mentioned. “Those are great. You’ve got to problem-solve their setter and their really good outside hitter, and there’s no one solution for guys that are that good. So we kept working through different options and things we thought were going to work as the match went on.”
Archbishop Mitty’s Oscar Klement #15 suggestions the ball over St. Francis defenders Timothy Cho #11 and Carson Sias #18 within the CCS Open Division Volleyball Championship on the Harker Faculty in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Might 17, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group)
The Lancers will probably be spoken for within the NorCals, however Mitty has the look of the odds-on favourite. Dryden is a giant cause for that. When he’s on, there isn’t a lot the opposite staff can do to cease him.
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“They played really, really clean in the first two sets,” Carson mentioned. “I felt like we made them a little uncomfortable later on. But when Will’s on fire, it’s tough.”
Mitty is happy to now have the chance to chase down a spot within the first-ever CIF boys volleyball state championship sport, which is able to conclude the season by matching up the winners of the NorCal and SoCal regional tournaments.
“Last year was a great year, and we knew that this year could be even more special,” Gallegos mentioned. “We may in all probability go somewhat bit additional. And the truth that there’s a state championship this yr for the primary time ever, that’s the brand new peak that we need to get to. And in order that’s the objective.
“I expect a lot more volleyball. I don’t want our season to end yet.”
Archbishop Mitty poses with their CCS Open Division Volleyball Championship trophy after defeating St. Francis on the Harker Faculty in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Might 17, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group)
Archbishop Mitty dogpiles after defeating St. Francis 3-1 within the CCS Open Division Volleyball Championship on the Harker Faculty in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Might 17, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group)
Archbishop Mitty’s Ryan Barnes rises as much as block a spike by St. Francis’ Andrija Ciric within the CCS Open Division Volleyball Championship on the Harker Faculty in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Might 17, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group)
Archbishop Mitty’s Niklas Jakobskrueger #22 and William Dryden #18 rise as much as block in opposition to St. Francis’ Blake Shepard within the CCS Open Division Volleyball Championship on the Harker Faculty in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Might 17, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Space Information Group)
