The562’s coverage of Long Beach Volleyball in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Misty May-Treanor and the Dream in Gold Foundation.
Friday night was eventful for Long Beach boys volleyball fans as they were able to see the best in the Moore League compete with and against one another. The Moore League coaches put together the inaugural Long Beach All-Star Volleyball match featuring the best in the city.
Along with some great volleyball, there were three awards handed out to players and coaches. The Dylan Stump award was given to Millikan’s Zach Dahl and Wilson’s Max Cherin. Moore League Player of the Year was awarded to Wilson’s setter Braden Pool-Harris. Coach of the Year was awarded to Jordan’s head coach Andrew Lane.
Each team was made up of the top players from the different teams in Moore League, making the crosstown rivals become teammates.
Team Beach, featured Poly’s Jackson Trunelle, Millikan’s Logan Karkanen, Cabrillo’s Demeyon Love, and Wilson’s Max Cherin, Ian Nolte and Will Morison. Team Long featured Lakewood’s Junior Tautai Reyes, Jordan’s Arthur Vaiala, Poly’s Ali’i Oglesby and Matthew Jenkins, and Wilson’s Braden Pool-Harris, Alden Jacobs, and Marek Turner.
“I thought this brought the league together a lot, I really enjoyed playing with people that I normally compete against,” Nolte said.
The All-Star game gave players a chance to showcase their skills in ways that they wouldn’t normally during regular league play. Millikan setter Logan Karkanen showcased his abilities as a pin hitter for Team Beach, while Wilson’s Marek Turner was able to show his second-ball skills.
“This was a really great experience for me, I’m friends with a lot of these guys in the league through club or school,” Karkanen said, “It’s weird playing with other guys and getting used to their playing styles but we were able to play together really well towards the end and win tonight.”
An ace by Millikan libero Gio Baltazar gave Team Long great momentum to close out the first set 25-18. Team Long was very creative on Friday night, as they had some very lively cheers to amp up their play for the night.
The pressure to beat their teammates made for many scramble plays ending with massive kills from both teams. Arthur Vaiala had a monster block on Ian Nolte to make not only the bench, but the players on the court partake in a cheer to amp both sides of the net up.
“Every year we go out to compete against each other, this is the first time that any of us have been able to go out and compete with these guys, it was a really cool experience,” Pool-Harris said.
The All-Star game went to a fifth set, with Team Beach, coached by Lakewood’s Adam Wadley and Millikan’s Matt Johnson defeating Team Long, coached by Wilson’s Chris Ceballos and Poly’s Sid Davidson.
