The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
The operative word of the day, and really for this entire season, has been redemption.
A year ago at the LBCC Sand Courts, the Millikan beach volleyball program got painfully close to winning a CIF-SS Championship, coming up just short against their league rivals from Wilson. But one year later on that exact same sand, the Rams received the plaque they really wanted, adorned in gold with the letters “CHAMPIONS” across the top.
Motivated by that experience a season ago, the Rams played with confidence, poise, and determination in a convincing 4-1 win over Windward on Saturday morning, bringing the school another CIF-SS title.
“It feels amazing,” said Millikan head coach Antoinette De La Espriella after the win. “I think the big thing is being process oriented, because throughout the season, we had a lot of losses that stung. Wwe had a lot of players that were in and out between club (volleyball) or other sports. So I knew that if we stayed the course, the goal was to make it to this point today, and the girls really trusted in the process. They invested in learning how to play against any team with any partner on any given day, and today was an example of that.”
Indeed, the Rams were without one of their top players, as Audrey Greene was out of town competing at the USA Volleyball U18 Junior National Championship in Reno. That led to a first-time pairing in the lineup, as Estella Lopez and Bella Bonales were teammates for the first time on Court 3.
Bonales talked about the feelings from last season’s final match, and how that setback made this victory even sweeter for the Rams.
“It was actually the best feeling ever,” said Bonales of winning a CIF title. “Especially with the disappointment from last season, we were so close. And this was our first game together, I’m just so happy that we won. And everyone really did their job today. It was just a great feeling.”
Lopez and Bonales put the first point on the board for the Rams, as they won their match in straight sets by a score of 21-15, 21-18.
“It was definitely super nerve-wracking,” admitted Lopez. “But once the first point happened, Bella was like, ‘We got this,’ and I just knew it would be okay.”
Just seconds later, Millikan’s lead doubled as Olivia Vitz and Samantha Guzman swept their match by a score of 21-12, 21-15 on Court 4. A Guzman ace on match point gave the Rams a 2-0 lead and put them on the verge of the title.
Despite losing in straight sets on Court 1, the Rams still had the lead on the two remaining courts, and Court 5 was first to finish. The freshman duo of Lucy Morris and Hannah Martin won the first game 21-16, and were trailing 20-19 in set two. As other courts finished, the number of spectators around Court 5 grew, but the players didn’t realize they were playing for the championship in that moment.
“I think we were both just trying to catch our breath, because we were very gassed during that game,” Martin explained. “We were trying to slow the game down a little bit so that we had time. We took our time on our serves. We really communicated. We talked to each other about what we needed to change, that kind of stuff. And I think that really helped us a lot.”
The Wildcats were unable to put away set point, and instead the Rams went on a clutch 3-0 run to flip the set and win it 22-20. That brought most of Millikan’s players onto the court as they celebrated the victory, and got to explain to their freshman teammates that they had just won them the title.
“A lot of the upperclassmen were really helpful with coaching us and helping us be prepared for stressful moments,” said Morris, of how as ninth graders they’ve been able to join in with a veteran squad. “Throughout the whole season, it was really the whole team making sure that we felt included, bringing us into the team so we felt more like we’ve been here before.”
The Rams finished off the day with an exciting back-and-forth win on Court 2, where Madison Jones and Johanna Swerdloff took care of business with a 21-17, 16-21, 15-8 win to officially end the match and start the celebration.
Millikan has now earned CIF plaques in consecutive seasons, with this being their first gold in program history. The Moore League continues to impress in beach volleyball, winning three titles the past two seasons.
With their win on Saturday, Millikan joins local rivals Long Beach Poly and Wilson as beach volleyball champs, making the Moore League the only league in the CIF Southern Section to have three different schools win beach volleyball championships.
“I think it’s a testament to Long Beach and promoting growth and partnership across clubs and across schools,” De La Espriella said. “I know that we’ve definitely been in situations where we’re cheering on Long Beach Poly or Wilson to win a game. So now hopefully when we go to the pairs playoffs, we can all cheer each other on to kind of bring home another championship, if we can, for the pairs.”
That CIF-SS Pairs Championship will be played May 6-7 in Huntington Beach, with a total of 64 pairs competing from across the Southern Section.
Complete Match Results:
Court 1: Miette Moon-Sasik/Jianna Green (WIN) def. Sarah Thaut/Bethany Arnold (MIL) 21-19, 21-13
Court 2: Madison Jones/Johanna Swerdloff (MIL) def. Serena Stokols/Marlowe Kline (WIN) 21-17, 16-21, 15-8
Court 3: Bella Bonales/Estella Lopez (MIL) def. Jordan Roth/Morgan La Salle (WIN) 21-15, 21-18
Court 4: Olivia Vitz/Samantha Guzman (MIL) def. Daley Hartnack/Julia Arenson (WIN) 21-12, 21-15
Court 5: Lucy Morris/Hannah Martin (MIL) def. Katie Powell/Annika Cook (WIN) 21-16, 22-20
