Lakewood showed its marked improvement in a Thursday afternoon sweep at Millikan 25-13, 25-19, 25-23. The co-Moore League leading Lancers dropped a set at home to the Rams last month, but got some payback by becoming the first league team to sweep Millikan this season.
“When we played them the first time they took the first set, and then we played,” Lakewood coach Mike Wadley said. “We usually don’t come out very strong so we had to turn it up.”
Lakewood sophomore Keke Hall was a force in the middle with six kills and six blocks. Freshman Samarah DaCoud shined on the outside with a handful of kills to go with 11 digs and an ace for the Lancers. Mina Barajas had five kills for Millikan, and Rams middle blocker Faith Jones chipped in a handful of blocks, but unforced errors limited the home team.
The Lancers serve and receive was key to the victory as Lakewood racked up nine service aces while senior libero Alwen Pila and junior setter Kat Gee combined for 46 digs.
After both teams traded quality service to open the first set, Lakewood pulled away with a 5-0 run with Pila behind the line to take a 10-3 lead. The Lancers led by as many as 12 in the set and cruised to a 25-13 win.
The second set was the sloppiest of the night with nine of the first fourteen points coming via an unforced error, and Millikan ended up making more of them. The Rams only scored four points in the set via service ace or kill.
Millikan pushed Lakewood hard in the third set after falling behind early, but a big kill from Hall in the middle when it was 22-21 helped the visitors keep the lead secure the sweep.
“Keke did great,” Wadley said. “She’s an outside hitter as well, but we need her in the middle, and she doesn’t complain. She just goes. She has all the tools.”
Lakewood is now 7-1 in Moore League and still tied for first place with Long Beach Poly. The Lancers visit the Jackrabbits on Oct. 17 for the last match of the regular season.
Millikan is now 5-4 and tied for third place in league with Wilson.
