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LONG BEACH — Wilson has grown mightily done its archetypal girls volleyball play nether Gerald Aquiningoc, and that could wage disconnected with thing astir unexpected erstwhile Moore League play began 5 weeks ago: the Bruins’ archetypal top-two league decorativeness successful 8 years.
A 3-0 romp, 25-15, 25-21, 25-21, Tuesday day implicit visiting Long Beach Poly, the four-time defending league champion, has Wilson (20-10 overall, 8-2 Moore) successful power of the second-place chase. It volition beryllium theirs with a triumph astatine Millikan (8-5, 5-3) connected Oct. 14.
Wilson’s Valerie Coward and Emiya Green spell up for the artifact against Long Beach Polys Emma Holder arsenic the 2 teams conflict it retired successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Adonia Faumuina hits 1 past Wilsons Allanah Smith and Meredith Bond arsenic the 2 teams conflict it retired successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Valerie Coward tries to deed 1 past Long Beach Polys Saniya Kimbrough and Meredith Houston arsenic the the Bruins instrumentality connected the Jackrabbits successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Meredith Bond hits the shot implicit arsenic the Bruins instrumentality connected Long Beach Poly successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
The Wilson assemblage celebrates a large play arsenic the Bruins pb Long Beach Poly successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Jaedyn Gonzalez sets up the shot arsenic the Bruins instrumentality connected Long Beach Poly successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Meredith Houston tries to deed 1 past Wilsons Emiya Green and Valerie Coward arsenic the Jackrabbits instrumentality connected the Bruins successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Imajaleah Goggins tries to deed 1 past Wilsons Meredith Bond arsenic the Jackrabbits instrumentality connected the Bruins successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Emiya Green, Allanah Smith, and Sydney Scott observe a large deed by Smith arsenic they instrumentality connected Long Beach Poly successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Emma Holder looks to deed 1 past Wilsons Valerie Coward arsenic the Jackrabbits instrumentality connected the Bruins successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Allanah Smith jumps up for the deed arsenic the Bruins instrumentality connected Long Beach Poly successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Adonia Faumuina looks to deed 1 past Wilsons Allanah Smith arsenic the Jackrabbits instrumentality connected the Bruins successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Allanah Smith returns the served arsenic the Bruins instrumentality connected Long Beach Poly successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Taylor Mercado and Halie McGinest for the shot arsenic the Jackrabbits instrumentality connected Wilson successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
The Wilson girls volleyball observe winning 3 consecutive sets against Long Beach Poly successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Chloe Pravednikov hits 1 implicit Long Beach Polys Imajaleah Goggins and Emma Holder arsenic the Bruins instrumentality connected the Jackrabbits successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Halie McGinest hits 1 implicit arsenic the Jackrabbits instrumentality connected Wilson successful Long Beach, CA, connected Tuesday, October 5, 2021. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
“We person (found our identity),” said Aquiningoc, whose squad was swept astatine Poly successful aboriginal September. “We’re truthful young, there’s inconsistencies. We tin bash this and past spell to Lakewood and stink it up. It’s (about) instilling assurance successful the girls. Not having truthful overmuch crippled experience, they’re present like, ‘Oh, I tin bash it.’ Now they judge successful themselves a small spot more.”
The Bruins were superb connected the serve, connected defense, successful modulation and astatine the net, becoming the lone squad speech from first-place Lakewood (19-3, 8-0) to expanse the Jackrabbits (6-13, 4-4) successful league play.
They received large contributions from astir everyone, and particularly elder setter Jaedyn Gonzalez (27 assists, 12 digs, 4 kills astatine cardinal moments connected small dumps implicit the net), inferior extracurricular hitter Allanah Smith (8 kills, 10 digs, 5 aces), sophomore other Chloe Pravednikov (11 kills, 11 digs, 3 aces), elder mediate blocker Meredith Bond (6 kills, 7 blocks, 3 aces) and inferior libero Sydney Scott (15 digs).
Wilson had 13 aces, utilizing its service to discomfit the Jackrabbits, who struggled to find Adonia Faumuina — the USC-bound elder playing successful her 4th crippled since returning from an ankle wounded — successful unsafe spots. Faumuina led the Jackrabbits, who person been without chap USC-bound prima Rylie McGinest each season, with 10 kills and 2 aces.
The Bruins finished with a 10-1 tally successful the archetypal set, with Smith serving up successive aces and Bond providing a termination and 2 blocks; took complaint of the 2nd acceptable with 7-2 and 9-2 tears; and utilized a 16-4 tally to propulsion up successful the last set, past held connected and clinched connected different Smith ace.
Poly manager Megan Moenoa said helium squad wasn’t “mentally acceptable to play today,” and that she could “take a cardinal guesses why. I deliberation that has conscionable been the year. Very up and down.”
“(We had) the volition and the grit that we didn’t person the archetypal time,” Gonzalez said. “I deliberation we were a small timid (in the archetypal meeting), but we came out, we deed the ball, we were aggressive, and that was a large alteration from the archetypal time.”
Each of the apical 4 teams are mathematically successful the rubric chase, but astir everyone is conceding it to Lakewood, the state’s third-ranked team, which faces Wilson connected Saturday. Lakewood besides has games against Millikan, Compton and Cabrillo connected its schedule.
“I judge we tin get a triumph from Lakewood,” Gonzalez said. “And Millikan, if we support up this vigor and this momentum, we should win. We’ll travel retired blistery and fiery, acceptable to win.”
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