The St. Patrick-St. Vincent High boys varsity volleyball team opened its 2014 season with a 25-9, 25-18, 25-6 victory over visiting Pinole Valley on Tuesday.

SPSV’S PATRICK LAGO (left) sets up teammate Patrick Basco for a kill attempt against Pinole Valley.

The Bruins (1-0), coming off their third straight North Coast Section championship, bolted to leads of 12-1 and 19-4 in the opening set and never looked back. Pinole Valley had an early 5-1 lead in the second set and was up 16-14 late, but two big kills by Matt Bohorquez and a kill by Patrick Lago got the Bruins going again.

SPSV led 11-2 early in the final set and never trailed.

The easy win came as a relief to the Bruins, who have a different nucleus than their three prior NCS championship teams.

“We weren’t sure how this team was going to come out this year and it felt good to play well, especially in the first and third games,” Bohorquez said. “We had a lot of intensity on the court. It’s a relief knowing we can play well. It brings our confidence up.”

“We made a lot of errors in that second game and it took some time for some players to get comfortable, but for the most part we ran what we were supposed to on offense,” said SPSV head coach Danette Domecus. “I’m happy with where we are.”

SPSV had 20 aces on the night, including five by junior Mark Perez, who added six kills. Bohorquez led the Bruins with eight kills and three aces, Maximus King had three kills and four aces, and Patrick Basco had five kills. Lago finished with two kills, 11 assists and three aces, Dominic Nicolas had eight assists and three aces, and libero John Cuevas had two aces.

The Bruins play at Hercules on Thursday night.

Sharing is caring!