Christopher Boys Volleyball Rallies from the Brink of Elimination as Diego Rodriguez Erupts for 53 Kills

A comeback for the ages. Fueled by a performance for the ages.

Junipero Serra-San Mateo had the CIF Central Coast Section Division I boys volleyball playoff game against Christopher all wrapped up. Until they didn’t.

The Match That Wouldn't End

Serra led two sets to one and pulled out to a 23-14 lead in the fourth set. To even extend the contest to a fifth set, the visiting Cougars would need to score 10 points before Serra could score two. The odds on that are approximately 0.2%. Serra had it in the bag. Nope.

Christopher, led by star outside hitter Diego Rodriguez, shocked Serra with an amazing rally to take the set 33-31. Christopher outscored the Padres 10-1 to tie the tally at 24-24, fighting off seven match points. Serra battled back, avoiding six set points, but the Cougars finally took the set.

There was a decisive fifth set to come. The Padres regrouped. They led 10-6. Then the Cougars did it again, stunning them with a 9-3 closing surge to win the match 14-25, 20-25, 25-19, 33-31, 15-13.

“It was a rough start, but it was a great comeback,” Christopher libero Nolan Smith said. “Everyone just played more aggressive. We had nothing to lose.”

Possibly more amazing was the spectacular performance by Rodriguez. The 6-foot-5 junior was unstoppable all day against a quality opponent, belting 53 kills. And Rodriguez delivered nearly every one of the crucial points in the two comebacks.

Tactical Adjustments Change Everything

“We started off tough but we got way more drive and became much more scrappy,” Rodriguez said. “We have a lot of seniors and we put in extra effort for them. We stayed locked in and focused.”

The Match Setup

It was an opening round playoff match in the CIF’s Central Coast Section, on May 10 at Serra High. Seventh-seeded Serra, known for producing Tom Brady, Barry Bonds and others, is a member of the powerful private West Catholic Athletic League. They were handling tenth-seeded Christopher, the public school from Gilroy, a town south of San Jose known mostly for its annual garlic festival.

The favored Padres dominated the first set. With 6-10 Caeden Jones and 6-3 James Bourdet pounding away, Serra’s attack was clicking. The Cougars fought back in the second but at 18-18, the Padres pulled away with a 7-2 closing run. In the third set, Christopher was the one to take over late. It was 18-18 but this time, the Cougars finished it off with a 7-1 charge.

“We started to find our identity,” Christopher coach Lee Guerrero said. “Our serve receive got much better. Because of that, we could run our offense better.”

Coach Guerrero also made some strategic changes. He matched up Noah Guerrero on Serra’s Jones. He moved the six-rotation Rodriguez around to make it harder for Serra to know where he was and get their big block in front of him.

“We moved Diego around,” coach Guerrero said. “We put him on the right side to help with the block. He got some big kills from that side too. It was difficult for them to defend him. We just kept grinding and I told them to go out swinging and leave it all out there.”

From 23-14 Down to a Fifth Set

Yet set four got out of hand. Serra appeared to be in full control with a 23-14 lead. The fans began to pack their belongings. Could Christopher climb off the carpet with such a deficit? They did.

“We finally found it,” coach Guerrero said. “We wanted to grind it out and finish each point. Leave it all out there. The boys got locked in. The momentum shifted and they started believing in themselves.”

In the closing rallies in the fourth and fifth set, Rodriguez led the way. As he did all day.

Rodriguez Delivers a Historic Performance

Rodriguez totaled a phenomenal 53 kills on the day. No typo. Fifty-three. Volleyball coaches and referees were consulted and all said great kill totals rarely go past the 30s.

High school records are not kept in California or around the country but the NCAA keeps them. In the college ranks, the kill record during the period 2001-present - which is when rally scoring began – and even with 30-point sets until the 2011 change to 25-point sets - is 40 by Arvis Greene Jr. of Cal State Northridge against UC Irvine on April 6, 2018.

In addition to his 53 kills, Diego Rodriguez did a little bit of everything, including digging, setting and serving to help Christopher survive and advance in the CIF playoffs. | Jonathan Natividad

Fifty-Three Kills. No Answer.

The 6-foot-5 Rodriguez, committed to Long Beach State University (a Final Four participant), smashed 17 in the fourth set alone and then nine more in the fifth. And that included basically all of the important points. This was not some early-season game against a school with a marginal sports program. This came in a playoff game on the road against a West Catholic Athletic League opponent.

Rodriguez produced kill totals of six, nine, 12, 17 and nine, respectively, in the five sets. He crushed balls through double and triple blocks. He hit line, he hit deep cross and he hit tight cross. He went over the block. He drilled balls into seams. He scored on roll shots, had a few tips and would tool the block. Many kills came from the back row, where he would look for open angles to hit through.

Every Big Point Belonged to Rodriguez

But most impressive was when he delivered those kills. Essentially every key point in the match. With everything on the line. When Christopher closed the fourth set from a 26-25 deficit to win 33-31, Rodriguez had seven kills in the Cougars’ eight points, the other coming on a Serra error. At 30-30, as Christopher finished with a 3-1 charge to get the needed two-point difference, all three points were Rodriguez kills.

In the fifth set, Christopher erased a 10-6 Padre lead with a 9-3 burst. Of the nine points by the Cougars, Rodriguez ripped six kills. The other points came on a service ace by Noah Guerrero and two Serra errors.

Fittingly, at 13-13, it was Rodriguez with the final two kills, a deep cross, followed by a tight cross. The miraculous comeback was complete.

Serra just could not find an answer. Rodriguez was unstoppable. Leading his team to the come-from-way-behind victory. With 53 kills.

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