The562’s coverage of Long Beach Volleyball in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Misty May-Treanor and the Dream in Gold Foundation.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
Wilson’s big win against the St. Francis on Wednesday was a bit of a deja vu moment for the Bruins, as they beat the Golden Knights in four sets, just as they did in 2021 for their first ever CIF championship.
“This was our last game at home, and we wanted to go out with a bang,” Wilson coach Chris Ceballos said. “We wanted to send a message knowing we would both be competing for the CIF Division 2 title this season, I know that the team wants it, so we had to prove it tonight.”
The Bruins came into this game with big swings from their front row players. Junior Ian Nolte’s blocking helped Wilson gain momentum at the end of the first set, leading sophomore Marek Turner for key swings to close it out at 25-23.
Wilson started the second set at a deficit, as St. Francis went on a 3-0 serving run. Junior Will Morrison, who tallied 4 kills, used the opposing block to score, helping the Bruins gain momentum and energy. Turner again closed out the second set with an overpass kill at 25-21, putting Wilson up 2-0 in the match.
After dropping the third set 25-16, the Bruins amped up their energy to inevitably win the game. Junior Will Morrison had an overpass kill, immediately followed by a solo block, giving the Bruins the confidence they needed for the rest of the game.
“We took our foot off of the gas in the third set, and got comfortable. We knew that we had to come back in the fourth set.” Setter Braden Pool-Harris said.
There was a lot of hostile energy coming from the Golden Knights on Wednesday night, but the Bruins used it to their advantage. Though it shouldn’t come as a surprise, Turner was the standout in the game. After a yellow card against him, he was able to turn that around with a solo block on the next play. The talented sophomore finished with a game-high 20 kills, and the Bruins closed out the fourth set, 25-18.
It’s another win against a potential playoff opponent for the Bruins, who already wrapped up their third consecutive unbeaten Moore League season earlier this week. The CIF-SS playoff brackets will be released this Saturday at 10 a.m.
