Andrulis, Coronado deal Silverado first league defeat

In the final home match of his high school career Tuesday, Coronado outside hitter Chris Andrulis did a little bit of everything, including sing the national anthem and soar over the scorer’s table chasing a loose ball.

With the match on the line, there was little question who the Cougars’ go-to guy would be.

With Silverado sitting on match-point at 14-13 in the fifth set, Andrulis calmly delivered one of his 24 kills to tie the set at 14, and the the Cougars went on to hand Silverado its first Southeast League loss of the year, 25-16, 25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 16-14.

Coronado (14-3, 12-1 Southeast League) will earn the league’s top seed for the Sunrise Region playoffs next week with a win Thursday at Del Sol or a Silverado loss at Foothill.

Byrin Romney had 53 assists and 16 digs for the Cougars, but none was more important than his set to Andrulis with the match on the line.

“I didn’t put the first two down (earlier), but Byrin said, 'It’s coming to you, Chris,’ ” said Andrulis, who also had nine digs, five blocks and two aces. “I have to give my setter credit; I said I would definitely put it down if he gave it to me. I knew what I had to do, and I did it.

“I’m never pessimistic; I always think I can be good.”

Silverado (15-2, 12-1) had rallied from a two-set deficit to force the fifth, and the Skyhawks were a point away from securing the Southeast title after a block by Ruben Jackson.

But Andrulis, a three-year varsity player, took the set from Romney and pulled his team out of the hole.

“When it’s crunch time, we’ve got to go to Chris,” Coronado coach Matt Johnson said. “It’s not a secret; everybody knows it. But Chris is going on to play collegiate volleyball, so he has to expect that. And it will make him a better player.”

The Cougars routed the Skyhawks in the first set, when Romney dished 10 assists and spread the ball to hitters Andrulis, Jahren Makanoa and Brandon Dau.

Silverado briefly challenged in the second set, using a 4-0 run to pull within 21-18, before Coronado came back and secured the win on a block by Jacob Pankney.

Makanoa had four of his 18 kills in the second set, then came on strong late as the Cougars tried to keep up with Silverado’s late rally.

Indigo Varela had 38 assists for the Skyhawks, who jumped to an early 6-2 lead and survived nine ties en route to the narrow win in the third set. Kyle Divicino posted six of his 15 kills in the third set to lead Silverado.

Jackson added nine kills and two blocks for Silverado, and Brian Theophil contributed seven kills and three aces. Teammate Steven Jex had seven kills and five blocks.

“If I had to choose anyone to play on senior night, I would choose Silverado for this reason,” Andrulis said. “It’s always this close, and they’re a great team. It was definitely a senior night to remember.”

Dau chipped in 12 digs, nine kills and three blocks, and Raymond Chan added 15 digs and two aces.