The562’s coverage of high school volleyball in 2025 is brought to you by the MLP’s Bay Area Breakers.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
For the first time in more than 17 years, it was an All-Moore League showdown for a CIF-SS championship.
Once again, that dream Long Beach matchup happened on home soil (or sand, in this case) as the Moore League champion WIlson Bruins faced off against the Millikan Rams for the third time this season at the Long Beach City College sand courts.
This latest battle between the Bruins and Rams had a lot more on the line–namely the CIF-SS Division 2 championship plaque–and the athletes on both sides of the net lived up to the moment, delivering a thrilling matchup from start to finish. It wasn’t easy, but Wilson held off a stern challenge from Millikan, securing a 3-2 victory to claim the school’s first-ever CIF championship in beach volleyball.
“So much credit to Millikan. They’re outstanding,” said Wilson head coach Jeremy Cook, fresh off the championship celebration. “They’re such good sports, and we knew it was gonna be tough. They’ve been battling us hard since we started this whole thing, so a ton of credit to Millikan, and then I’m just so proud of our girls for refusing to lose. As a team, we’ve won 17 straight, and we’re not winning easily, but we were winning. It’s unbelievable.”
The victory gives Wilson High its 70th CIF-SS Championship in school history, and fifth in the last five years. The Bruins reached the semifinals in 2024, and were vocal about their desire to reach the final this time around. Not only did they make it, they took home the top prize by beating a talented Millikan team for the third time.
“I think our girls played with a lot more heart today,” said Rams assistant coach Faith Jones, who helped fill in for head coach Antoinette De La Espriella for the championship match. “They were really passionate about wanting to show up, show out, and show who Millikan is … We’ve been working our butts off in practice, waiting for this moment. Our goal the entire time was to meet Wilson again in the finals. We couldn’t beat them in season, but we wanted to meet them in the finals. I think that was the main factor in how the team played today.”
The Rams came out of the gate well, winning three of the five opening sets to take an early advantage. Millikan’s No. 3 pair of Lila Walters and Bella Bonales were able to earn the first point of the day with a 21-19, 21-10 victory on their court, but that advantage was quickly taken away on Court 5.
Wilson’s sister duo of Milan Lewis and Na’ima-Lene Tilivala-Lewis were able to sweep their match by a score of 21-16, 21-18, tying things up and giving the Bruins a clearer path to victory.
“A ton of credit to Na’ima and Milan on Court 5, because even though we were down 3-2 (in sets), I was feeling a tiny bit better because one of those losses was Simrin and Sadie (on Court 1), and I had faith that they might bounce back,” Coach Cook explained. “So the fact that the sisters on Court 5 were able to get a sweep, that opened a lot of things for us.”
In fact the Bruins on Court 1 did bounce back after dropping the first set to Millikan’s Sarah Thaut and Bethany Arnold, 21-19. The Moore League pairs champs from Wilson, Simrin Adams and Sadie Calderone, took control of things in set two and never looked back, winning those last two games 21-16, 15-8, putting Wilson in the lead, 2-1.
That meant Millikan would need to win on both Court 2 and Court 4 in order to come back, and attention quickly turned to the second court. Sophia Orbiso and Aubrey Green, who had their quest for a Moore League pairs title cut short due to injury, played a gutsy match against Wilson’s Kate Vanderwal and Dani Dobie, with each team winning a set 21-17 to force a third game.
Millikan was able to survive a pair of championship points, and the teams went back-and-forth with the set up for grabs on both sides. With most of the crowd following the events on Court 2, and neither side willing to budge as it went beyond the 15-point threshold, suddenly Court 4 became the decisive matchup.
Wilson’s duo of Iyla Alvarado and Jane Morrison have yet to lose this season as a pair, boasting a 13-0 record coming into the final. After winning set one 21-19, Millikan’s Mikayla Brumbelow and Johanna Swerdloff battled back for a 21-18 win in set two. That put pressure on Wilson’s “unbeatable duo” to come through again.
“It was just, who has the better mentality?” Alvarado said after the match. “Whoever has the better mentality is gonna win, so it was all about keeping our head up.”
The Bruins were able to persevere with a 15-11 win on Court 4, leading to a somewhat unexpected celebration with so many eyes trained on the other court. Particularly for Morrison, who missed an entire year away from volleyball while recovering from back surgery, that celeration was a moment to cherish with her teammates.
“Not being able to play after that much time, and now I finally can, I was like, ‘I want to win this.’ This is ours,” Morrison said. “And having Iyla as my partner really helped. After not being able to play for such a long time, I was really looking forward to this. I really wanted that win.”
Back on Court 2, Millikan’s pair of Orbiso and Green finished strong to win a marathon third set 21-19, showing great pride in battling until the final point. While it wasn’t the overall result the Rams were hoping for, they gave Wilson all they could handle and put themselves in a position to win.
“We were fighting until the last point. Every single court, every single pair, was putting out their best out there,” said Millikan assistant coach Andy Jaszczynski. “It was such a tough battle, we didn’t know who was going to be the deciding pair in the end. Unfortunately, it didn’t go the way it was supposed to on our side, but the girls showed heart. They showed grit. They showed effort. Exactly what we were looking for. And it’s a work in progress. We only have one senior on the team, so going forward, we are very motivated. We’ll get them back next year.”
Wilson’s win adds a new chapter to the Long Beach volleyball history books, as two Moore League teams won CIF titles on Saturday. Long Beach Poly defeated Canyon in the Division 3 final just prior to the Wilson/Millikan showdown, giving the Moore League two CIF titles and a runner-up plaque in year three for beach volleyball as an official CIF sport.
The last time two Moore League schools faced off for a CIF title was back on Feb. 29, 2008, when Long Beach Poly’s girls’ basketball team defeated Millikan at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach.
Wilson head coach Jeremy Cook also earns the distinct honor of winning CIF titles in two different sports at Wilson. After leading the Bruins’ boys’ volleyball program to a championship in 2021, he helped guide the Bruins to their first title in beach volleyball less than four years later.
“Coach (Charlie) Pangborn and I have just been preaching that we want to be the program that kind of sets the standard,” Cook said. “And you can’t do that if you’re not winning. You can’t do that if you don’t get a championship. So we’re trying to do things right. We’re trying to be visible, we’re trying to be out there. And we’re fortunate to have good players and amazing parents.”
The beach volleyball season will continue on May 6-7 with the CIF-SS Pairs Championships, held at the Newland Courts in Huntington Beach.
Final Results:
Court 1: Simrin Adams/Sadie Calderone (WIL) def. Sarah Thaut/Bethany Arnold (MIL) 19-21, 21-16, 15-8
Court 2: Sophia Orbiso/Aubrey Green (MIL) def. Kate Vanderwal/Dani Dobie (WIL) 21-17, 17-21, 21-19
Court 3: Lila Walters/Bella Bonales (MIL) def. Kierin Adams/Peyton Agura (WIL) 21-19, 21-10
Court 4: Iyla Alvarado/Jane Morrison (WIL) def. Mikayla Brumbelow/Johanna Swerdloff (MIL) 21-19, 18-21, 15-11
Court 5: Milan Lewis/Na’ima-Lene Tilivala-Lewis (WIL) def. Olivia Fitz/Macy Blackman (MIL) 21-16, 21-18
