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The Long Beach Poly beach volleyball team may find itself down — but never out.
It wasn’t the first time the Jackrabbits had trailed during their playoff run, and Saturday’s CIF-SS Division 3 championship at Long Beach City College was no different. Poly fell behind 2-1 against Canyon and even faced set point in the decisive match — with the entire season on the line.
The Jackrabbits eventually battled back to win it 3-2, claiming the program’s first-ever beach volleyball championship.
“I wouldn’t want it any other way. 3-2. Just tight and neck-to-neck like that,” said Poly Court 1 starter Aleeya Salima. “That’s just Poly.”
“It was a battle from beginning to end,” head coach Litara Keil said. “I don’t think there was ever a break for relief and I think this whole playoff series it’s been like that where we’re down and we have to come back and the girls have come back on top every single time.”
It all came down to Poly’s Simone Millsap and Alyssa Luna on Court 4, playing in the final match still underway with the overall score tied 2-2. The pair were locked in a tight third set against Canyon’s Hannah Hoang and Erin Ly, even trailing 14-15 while facing match point.The Jackrabbits fought back to earn a match point of their own, and sealed the championship with a Millsap ace.
Remarkably, it was the second time in as many matches that Millsap and Luna had been the last team standing. Just days earlier in the semifinals, they found themselves in the same high-pressure situation — delivering the deciding point to send them to Saturday’s championship.
“It feels amazing,” said Millsap. “The last few points in the semifinals and this game I was just visualizing my teammates running in and how amazing it would feel to win. So I felt that if I could channel that energy into my serve, we were gonna win.”
“When you have your people cheering you on it is easy to feel motivated and secure,” added Luna.
Luna was moved up from junior varsity this season and has made her impact felt during Poly’s championship run. She’s had the luxury of placing alongside one of the Jackrabbits’ senior captains in Millsap.
“They’re the most sane team out of all five courts,” said Keil of the duo. “Their energy is sane and calm the whole time. That just shows a lot from Simone and her maturity, and Alyssa being a JV puller that got pulled up is insane. She’s just so calm and her demeanor in those pressure moments helped both of them pull through at the end.”
The only other match to go to three sets was on Court 1, where Aleeya Salima and Londyn Foster came back to reverse sweep Canyon’s Ellie Nguyen and Jordyn Roberts.
“I had no doubt,” said Salima. “We just had to trust each other and understand that we have each other's back in situations like these. What’s done in the dark comes to light and I’m so glad. Win or lose we told each other to play with our hearts and that's what we did.”
The CIF-SS championship is the 132nd in school history, more than any other school, and the first since the girls’ indoor volleyball championship. Salima played a big role in both of those wins and reflected on adding another championship to her resume.
“It feels awesome, honestly,” she said. “All glory to God. He’s the one behind this and I can’t thank Him enough.”
The Jackrabbits first win of the day came on Court 3 when Lauren Foster and Taimane Poe defeated Remington Glenn and Kedzie Kranz. The pair contributed to what was the quickest match of the day with a dominant sweep.
Canyon found a win on Court 2 from Rylie White and Kendall Vanderplow who took down Giselle Millsap and Dayna Lagafuaina. London Kenyon and Emma Vesa also won for Canyon on Court 5 against Finley Stuart and Vivienne Irwin.
In just the fourth year of the sport, a CIF-SS championship marks a major milestone for Keil and her program. She hopes the beach volleyball culture at Poly will continue to grow.
“It took a while to change the environment and culture of the program,” said Keil. “We were very serious when we stepped in to take over and it wasn't reciprocated. So I hope winning CIF changes that and makes a statement that we’re serious and we’re here to work and make a change.”
Full Match Results:
Court 1: Aleeya Salima/Londyn Foster (Poly) def. Ellie Nguyen/Jordyn Roberts (Canyon) 13-21, 21-17, 15-11
Court 2: Rylie White/Kendall Vanderplow (Canyon) def. Giselle Millsap/Dayna Lagafuaina (Poly) 21-11, 21-13
Court 3: Lauren Foster/Taimane Poe (Poly) def. Remington Glenn/Kedzie Kranz (Canyon) 21-12, 21-11
Court 4: Simone Millsap/Alyssa Luna (Poly) def. Hannah Hoang/Erin Ly (Canyon) 23-21, 16-21, 17-15
Court 5: London Kenyon/Emma Vesa (Canyon) def. Finley Stuart/Vivienne Irwin (Poly) 21-17, 21-18
