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.
After winning a CIF championship last year, Long Beach Poly is focused on writing a new story this season, and Tuesday’s playoff opener was a perfect start.
The Jackrabbits hosted Rosary Academy at Long Beach City College in the CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs on Tuesday and made quick work of the Royals, clinching the win early with three straight sweeps to open the match. Poly then closed it out on the final two courts, securing a 4-1 victory to advance to the second round.
“It was a good win,” said Poly coach Litara Keil. “We have a really good squad that’s even more passionate than the group we had last year so it’s allowed things to go well as we’ve progressed into the playoffs. It’s been hard with the overlaps with club volleyball, but these girls are excited and they really wanted to get the momentum going today.”
Poly found its most decisive win in a 21-11, 21-9 sweep to open the day from Court 3 pair Maddie Hong and Giselle Millsap, before Aleeya Salima and Keola Napoleon-Alvarez closed out a win on Court 2. That was immediately followed by a sweep from Court 4 pair Finley Stuart and Vivienne Irwin, as Poly quickly took a 3-0 advantage to win it.
The Jackrabbits’ Court 2 pair of Salima and Napoleon-Alvarez are one of the newer duos Poly has shifted around this year, with Salima a junior and Napoleon-Alvarez only a freshman. The pair reflected on their partnership after the match along with their team’s win.
“It was honestly so fun,” Napoleon-Alvarez said of her first playoff win. “I’m so grateful that I get to experience this, especially with Aleeya because she’s just so uplifting as a person and it’s fun experiencing it with her.”
“I can say the same about her,” Salima added. “I think today was a great way to get rolling into this playoff run. There’s also a lot more teams this year in the bracket so I think it’s great to have some momentum that we created today leading up to a championship run.”
Keil has had to make some changes in the last week and a half leading up to the playoffs, which led to a few new pairs taking the court on Tuesday without much experience together. That was the case on Court 4 for Stuart and Irwin, who had only played together once this year prior to Tuesday’s win.
“They had just one hour of practice yesterday, and they killed it today,” Keil said. “They glued really well together and finished before everybody else, which was a big statement.”
The two most competitive matches came on either end with Courts 1 and 5, including a gritty win from Avery Milburn and Mina Orbiso on Court 1. The pair went to extra points in both sets against Rosary’s Danielle Thiemann and Kate Duarte, managing wins in both with a 22-20, 23-21 sweep.
The Jackrabbits even showed some toughness in their only loss of the afternoon, as Lailah Claiborne and Dayna Lagafuaina held Rosary off with a 22-20 second-set win to stay alive before digging out of a big deficit in the third. The pair trailed 11-4 before going on a five-point run and eventually closing within two before falling 15-13.
Poly will now look ahead to the second round on Tuesday where it’ll face Linfield Christian, which is also coming off of a 4-1 win over Newbury Park.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” Keil said. “Obviously the girls are excited, but we don’t need to be too anxious. The moment they get anxious on the court it’s over, so we just need to make sure they’re focused and working on their skills and what they’ve learned in practice.”
Final Results:
Court 1: Avery Milburn/Mina Orbiso (LBP) def. Danielle Thiemann/Kate Duarte (ROS) 22-20, 23-21
Court 2: Aleeya Salima/Keola Napoleon-Alvarez (LBP) def. Madeline Lambros/Nicole Basas (ROS) 21-14, 21-15
Court 3: Maddie Hong/Giselle Millsap (LBP) def. Anne Duarte/Leilah Teves (ROS) 21-11, 21-9
Court 4: Finley Stuart/Vivienne Irwin (LBP) def. Madilyn Kim-Carrillo/Lucia Benard (ROS) 21-13, 21-9
Court 5: Taryn Litfin/Isabella Ramirez (ROS) def. Lailah Claiborne/Dayna Lagafuaina (LBP) 12-21, 22-20, 15-13
