Down 2-0, the Knights claw to a a dramatic 19-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-18, 19-17 win to secure their first CIF championship in program history.
Bishop’s’ players celebrate a point in the second set against Torrey Pines during the CIF Open Division prep boys volleyball championship at Mission Hills High School in San Marcos on Friday, May 15, 2026.
SAN MARCOS — There comes a time in an athlete’s life when, backed into a corner, they have no choice but to fight. The Bishop’s School’s boys volleyball team — the No. 1 team in San Diego from the first day of practice this season — faced a challenge of epic proportions Friday night.
Down 2-0 and facing three match points to second-seeded Torrey Pines, the Knights clawed, punched and never gave up, resulting in a dramatic 19-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-18, 19-17 win to secure their first CIF championship in program history.
“I couldn’t be prouder of a better group of not just good athletes, but great young men,” Bishop’s coach Chris Shaffer said. “We said it all year when we were having a good regular season that we weren’t satisfied. This was the goal. We did it.
” The Knights were on life support, and against the ninth-ranked team in the nation. But their resilience matched their belief that they were destined to make history.
“It just shows that we’ll never give up and we’ll keep pushing no matter what,” said Will Denning, who finished with a match-high 32 kills. “I’m so glad our team earned that and we showed it tonight. ” In the first set, the Falcons felt like they had an emotional advantage, and it showed.
They went to their big hitters often — Stanford-bound senior Declan Flanagan and junior UCLA commit Griffin Dieter —but also got key contributions at the net from Beckett Ribeiro-Greenbaum, Nate Mahon and David Kim along with setter Zach Lau. It was 18-17 Torrey Pines when the Falcons went on a 6-1 run. Flanagan’s kill from the back row on two for a 20-17 lead was key. Flanagan finished with 28 kills and 10 digs and Dieter had 25 and six.
David Kim added 12 kills and Ribeiro-Greenbaum added 10.
“I just told them, literally, besides winning the match, you couldn’t ask for anything more,” Falcons coach Nick Rubacky said. “They played their hearts out. We played arguably our best match of the year in the final. I would say we probably should have won that match, but when you play a great team, that’s what happens.
” The Knights again felt out of sorts in the second set, going down by five points consistently. The third set, however, was vintage Bishop’s. That is, relentless defense, solid serve receive and toughness down the stretch. Logan Yockey’s stuff block in the middle at 23-all was followed by Bex Keller-Carroll’s ace.
The Knights played about as perfect of a fourth set as possible to send it to five. They had 14 kills against no hitting errors. The Falcons held a 10-6 lead in the fifth before a couple errors and a Henry Kim kill after a long rally made it 10-9. Down 13-10, Logan Yockey had a stuff block and then a huge kill after Dieter’s kill to stave off match point No. 1.
Giles Beamer’s kill in transition tied it at 14 and brother David Beamer’s kill tied it at 15 after Flanagan’s kill.
“It was a lot of breathing,” said Logan Yockey, who had seven kills. “Just forgetting what the score is. After we trusted in Will and Giles to get what needs to be done, done so the rest of us could operate and score and fill in the cracks. ” Hudson Yockey’s kill on an overpass gave Bishop’s its first match point, but Flanagan put it away to tie it.
Flanagan had another kill to tie it at 17 but errors on the last two points sealed it for the Knights.
“We have that ability to keep battling, knowing that the game isn’t over until that last point,” said Giles Beamer, who had 10 kills. “It’s something I’ve been dreaming about since I started playing for varsity. We go in our gym every day, and we see all the banners on the wall, and I think we’re maybe the only sport at Bishop’s that didn’t have a CIF championship. To win the first one is unbelievable. ”
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