Bulldogs oust Acalanes in straight set wins

The Bulldog boys volleyball team took a short trip to Lafayette on Wednesday evening, and made easy work of the Acalanes Dons in a match that lasted just over an hour.

If you’re keeping score, that’s pretty fast. The 3-0 win was Alhambra’s first in Diablo Foothill Athletic League play, and also sets a mark of 15 wins in the last 17 sets they’ve played against the Dons.

After starting off with a few miscues, the Bulldogs quickly shifted into top gear thanks to solid serve play from senior Nick Lucido. The opposite hitter’s two aces were apart of the 7-0 run that erased an early Acalanes lead.

Kyle Magtibay also had a three kills in the set to help guide the Bulldogs in the right direction, as did middle hitter Christian Cota’s block to make the initial run from an Alhambra timeout.

The Bulldogs didn’t look back from that point, despite solid hitting from the Dons.

Will Jochum and Jerald Jionoran each had a pair of huge kills in the closing stages of the match that slowed down a small momentum shift from Acalanes, and secured the win.

In the second set, the Bulldogs flexed some muscle.

Alhambra had excellent hitting due to some great passes from Savion Prieto and good defensive work from Alin Torio and Jionoran.

The Bulldogs recorded five kills only a few minutes into the set, and immediately built up a 12-5 lead before Acalanes called timeout to stop the bleeding.

Jochum had a block and kill on successive points to help Alhambra build a lead as big as 10 points, their biggest of the day.

Magtibay added solid hitting from his side of the court to accompany the work from Jochum in the middle and Jionoran on the outside in the second set.

But it was poor passing and communication from the Dons that really sealed the final few points of the set. The Dons fell apart and allowed Magtibay to reel off some points from tough shots.

Up 2-0, it was clear the Bulldogs were going to go ahead and make fast work of the Dons, but Acalanes still put up a fight, and took an early lead in set three.

But it didn’t take long for the Bulldogs to show why they’re one of the top 100 teams in the nation, as they cruised to a 24-19 win, and a 17-4 record.