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Mater Dei boys volleyball rallies to beat Servite in thrilling five-set match

March 30, 2023

ANAHEIM – Mater Dei and Servite have engaged in some great battles in their decades-long rivalry in a variety of sports.

Add Wednesday’s boys volleyball match to the stack.

Mater Dei defeated Servite in five sets, 17-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-16, 15-13, to take sole possession of first place in the Trinity League. The teams were tied for first going into Wednesday.

Mater Dei completed its comeback by scoring six of the fifth set’s final eight points to win the match.

The Monarchs are 16-7 overall and 5-0 in league. Servite is 12-10 and 4-1. The CIF Southern Section Division 1/2 poll has Servite at No. 7 and Mater Dei at No. 8.

Mater Dei senior opposite hitter Brett Bruder had a team-high 17 kills.

“Brett was a side-out machine for us,” said Mater Dei coach Jake Nuneviller.

Monarchs senior setter Cole Schobel, who signed with Loyola of Chicago, had nine kills, 15 digs and 34 assists. Junior middle blocker Tyler Robinson had seven blocks and senior libero Matthew Thornton contributed 13 digs.

Servite junior opposite hitter Eamon Rigdon had 34 kills, some of which, like several of Bruder’s slams, were of the velocity that would bust through a garage door. Senior setter Sergio Garcia had 48 assists and three aces and junior libero Quinn Rosenkranz had 14 digs.

The Friars had an 11-9 lead in the fifth set and seemed to be destined for victory. A Bruder block tied it 11-11. Robinson’s kill put the Monarchs on top 14-12, Rigdon got his final kill of the night to make it 14-13 and Bruder finished it with a kill.

Senior opposite hitter Brett Bruder with the match winner for Mater Dei. Monarchs defeat Servite in five sets … 17-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-16, 15-13. ⁦@ocvarsity⁩ pic.twitter.com/2jEd5SUdcE

— Steve Fryer (@SteveFryer) March 30, 2023

“It was a battle,” Bruder said. “The Friars played really well tonight. It was really fun.”

Rigdon dominated in the first set won by Servite. Mater Dei was especially strong at the net in the second half of the second set to win it 25-22.

Rigdon, son of Mater Dei basketball all-time great Dylan Rigdon, was the main factor in the third set won by Servite.

The Monarchs gathered momentum halfway through the fourth set, outscoring Servite 16-7 to win it 25-16.

Servite had leads of 4-0 and 8-5 in the fifth set but Mater Dei rallied to victory.

“We scrapped really hard at the end,” Nuneviller said. “I thought we could have gotten out of the gate a little faster at the beginning of the match. Their opposite (Rigdon) was great, and we must find a way to contain him the next time we play because he killed us all night.”

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Mater Dei plays host to Servite on April 19.

Servite coach Matt Marrujo was disappointed by the outcome but pleased with the Friars’ effort.

“They represented everything we want our program to be,” Marrujo said. “They battled, they fought and did everything we wanted so I’m super-proud of them.”

Mater Dei’s next match is a league match at JSerra on Friday. Servite plays at league match at St. John Bosco on Friday.

Orange County Register

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Mater Dei boys volleyball rallies to beat Servite in thrilling five-set match

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