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.
The reigning CIF-SS Division 3 champions from Long Beach Poly have been proving themselves against high-quality opposition during their postseason run in 2025. After moving up to Division 2 this season, the Jackrabbits have more than held their own against some of Southern California’s top teams, advancing to Saturday’s semifinal round.
That impressive run came to an end, however, as the Jackrabbits were overpowered by Santa Margarita in a 25-13, 25-18, 25-14 loss in South Orange County.
“I’m proud of them. Like I told them outside, they’re continuing to push the standard,” said Poly head coach Gerald Aquiningoc of his team’s performance in these playoffs. “We won Division 3, and we competed in a higher division this year, and with the way the season played out–playing games with JV call-ups–you know, I’m super proud we made it to a semifinal. We just came across a team that was just a little hotter than us tonight.”
Led by 17 kills from 6-foot-4 Texas commit Ireland Real, Santa Margarita was in control of the match throughout. The Eagles were even superior in the service game, which had been a main key to Poly’s success throughout the playoffs. SM had seven aces as a team, compared to only four from the Jackrabbits, and they had a number of offensive weapons across the net for Poly to lead with.
Opposite Memphis Burnett had nine kills and four aces for the Eagles, Kenzie McDaniel put down nine kills and Kate Jackson chipped in eight.
For the Jackrabbits, McKennah Iamaleava had a team-high 11 kills to go with a couple of blocks, and Cika Talaga had seven kills and a pair of aces. Overall though, it was far from Poly’s best showing, and Coach Aquiningoc rotated in 15 different players in search of the right mix to spark his team.
“We never really settled into the environment. This was probably the worst game I’ve ever seen us play this season,” Aquiningoc admitted. “We just could never find the rhythm, and they did a good job with their service pressure, and then we didn’t serve as tough as we normally do. They were in system, and when you have a 6-4 outside just banging away on us, it’s tough.”
The Jackrabbits fell into a 12-3 hole in set one, as the Eagles used an early 8-0 run to give themselves some breathing room. The lead hovered around double digits before a kill by Real finished it off, 25-13.
The best moment of the night for Poly came in the start to set two, when Iamaleava and Talaga combined to score the team’s first six points of the frame. Iamaleave had three kills in that stretch, while Talaga had a kill and back-to-back aces. The Rabbits would lead 9-3 early to force an Eagles timeout, but that’s when the momentum shifted.
Santa Margarita went on a 14-3 run in that set, turning a 10-4 deficit into an 18-13 lead, and they never looked back from there. By the time set three rolled around, the home team was in firm control and never trailed.
The Eagles (23-10) advance to the CIF-SS Division 2 title game where they’ll take on West Ranch. Meanwhile, Long Beach Poly (27-9) will await their draw in the CIF State playoffs.
“I’m still proud of our girls. I’m proud of the effort that we put through this season,” Aquiningoc said. “Obviously the loss is disappointing, but I told the girls, our saving grace is our season doesn’t end. But we can’t let this loss linger over into the state tournament, because if we go in with hurt feelings, we could get bounced right away.”
Brackets for the 2025 CIF State girls’ volleyball playoffs will be released on Sunday, Nov. 9.
