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The Long Beach Poly girls’ volleyball team enters this weekend looking for history, as the Jackrabbits are trying to win a fourth CIF Southern Section championship in program history. Poly (28-7) will face Redondo Union (22-11) at Cerritos College Saturday at 3pm in the CIF-SS Division 2 championship match.
It’s a rematch of the 2010 Division 1 championship game, won by the Jackrabbits in a classic thriller; Poly would also defeat Redondo in the CIF State Division 1 SoCal championship that year as well. After that the Sea Hawks had won 11 matches in a row against the Jackrabbits until Poly’s win over Redondo on Oct. 14 snapped that streak.
“We’ve watched our film, we’ve watched their film, I have multiple things we may implement or may not implement this week,” said Poly coach Gerald Aquiningoc. “For me it’s super important to not overthink things. I also think that when my teams look at my body language I want to convey calmness. It’s all mental—how can we handle ourselves mentally over the next week, going into an environment that only a few have played in? Are we going to be our best when our best is required?”
The Jackrabbits defeated Redondo in five sets in both teams’ final match of the regular season, which was rescheduled from earlier in the year due to excessive heat on the day it was originally scheduled. The Jackrabbits have been on a tear, having won 16 of their last 17 matches and sweeping Campbell Hall and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame to start the playoffs, then taking down Murrieta Valley in four sets.
The Sea Hawks won 3-1 over Crean Lutheran, 3-2 over Newport Harbor, and 3-1 against San Juan Hills in the semifinals.
Despite Poly’s success, Aquiningoc is right that the team’s best will be required to bring home the championship. The Sea Hawks boast a pair of Division 1 middles in Oregon State commit Abbie Hairrell and Cal Poly commit Sienna Castillo, as well as skilled all-around pin hitters, both of whom are committed to play Division 1 beach (Washington commit Leah Blair and Cal Poly beach commit Linnaea Nielsen).
The Jackrabbits of course boast plenty of their own firepower, led by UC Irvine commit McKennah Iamaleava, Dominguez Hills commit Aleeya Salima, and Illinois commit Cika Talaga.
The Jackrabbits find themselves in a unique situation having played their championship opponent just a few weeks ago. Aquiningoc said his team is fired up for Saturday.
“They know what’s at stake and they’re grateful for the opportunity,” he said. “You never know when you get to play in matches like this—so they’re grateful and they want to take advantage of the privilege of competing for a championship for Long Beach Poly.”
Regardless of the outcome Saturday, the Jackrabbits have already clinched a berth in the CIF State volleyball playoffs, with brackets set to be released Sunday afternoon.
