The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Former Jackrabbits Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
Tuesday night’s Moore League finale had the feel of a championship atmosphere — a feeling Long Beach Poly has come to know well.
Wilson was the only obstacle between the Jackrabbits and an undefeated Moore League title, and the Bruins jumped out to take the first set in front of a packed gym. Poly brushed off the early loss and handled the next three to secure their third straight Moore League championship, winning 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18.
“It’s amazing, man,” said Poly coach Gerald Aquiningoc. “This is what we want; we want to continue to set the standard in our area and we’re doing that. I’m so proud of them. A lot of things have happened this year with expectations and a lot of adversity, so for them to overcome that and win it is amazing.”
The program’s standard has certainly risen since coming under Aquiningoc’s leadership in 2023. The former Wilson coach took a fourth-place team in the Moore League and has led them to three straight league championships. With just a handful of seniors remaining from that first season, the group has been central to Poly’s transformation to recent success.
“Honestly, it feels like a blessing,” said Poly senior Lauren Foster, who had a team-high 21 assists in the win against Wilson. “We work so hard to get to where we’re at. I’m just so proud of all the girls and just happy we were able to close out the regular season with a win.”
After giving Wilson 11 points off miscues in the first set, Poly opened the second with a 4–1 lead. The Jackrabbits used a 10-2 run to take control midway through the set, highlighted by a service run and ace from Foster. Wilson rallied late with a 6–1 run, but Poly held on to even the match at one set apiece.
“Wilson’s a great team and they’re always competitive, but I just think that at the beginning we weren’t really playing our game,” said senior Sianalei Purcell, who added 12 assists. “We finally came around toward the end and were able to minimize our mistakes. Our sisterhood is so strong that we’re able to hold each other accountable and come together to fix our mistakes.”
The Jackrabbits started to feed the ball to McKenna Iamaleava after the first set, and the junior racked up 17 of her game-high 20 kills in the final three sets. Iamaleava helped Poly battle back from a 20-15 deficit in the second set, before the Jackrabbits closed on a 10-3 run to take a one set lead.
“She’s a game-changer,” Aquiningoc said of Iamaleava, who also had 16 digs. “Just knowing you have an attacker on the court you can set to and trust to get a point is huge.”
After being knotted at 15 apiece in the fourth set, Poly went on a commanding 5-0 run including a kill and a block from junior Aleeya Salima. Salima rose to the occasion in the set, accounting for four of the Jackrabbits’ final eight points and finishing with 14 kills on an efficient .480 hitting percentage.
“It’s just been my confidence,” Salima said of the big moment. “Confidence is something I’m still learning in myself, so I’ve just been trying to build that up and lean on God. Having that confidence and knowing I’m bigger than my sport is just an amazing thing.”
The regular season finale caps a 10-win season for the Bruins, along with a second-place finish in the Moore League. Wilson was led by Stanford commit Simrin Adams, who finished Tuesday’s match with a team-high 15 kills on .207 hitting. Kyra Bryant had 21 assists for the Bruins while Dani Dobie finished the match with 12 digs.
Wilson and Poly now turn their attention to the postseason, where both teams competed in the CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs last year, which ended in the Jackrabbits’ first CIF championship since 2010. The latest rankings (Oct. 5) have the Jackrabbits at No. 35 in CIF-SS, with Wilson at No. 95 and Millikan in between at No. 56.
The562 will have updates as the CIF-SS girls’ volleyball brackets release on Saturday morning.
