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 Poly athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Poly alum Jayon Brown and PlayFair Sports Management.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by JuJu Smith-Schuster and the JuJu Foundation.
The562’s coverage of Millikan athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Curtis Boyer.
The memory of being swept in three sets on their own court was all too familiar for the Millikan Rams as they traveled to Long Beach Poly for their second matchup with the Jackrabbits. Millikan (16-7, 5-2) had redemption in their mind and turned the tide this game, sweeping Long Beach Poly (10-9, 4-2) on their home court.
“Nobody really felt like losing,” Millikan’s Jackson Cryst said, “We all turned it up, talked more, played a lot harder, and played more together.”
The cohesiveness of the Rams was evident from the beginning of the match. Although Cryst led the night with 20 total kills, he said he could not have done it without the rest of his team.
“All my guys are the reason that I am able to score any points. I couldn’t do anything without them.”
Libero Gio Baltazar led the serve receive while also setting up lots of chances for the Rams with consistent passing. Junior setter Logan Karkanen also created some great chances for points.
Despite Millikan’s sweep, the Jackrabbits kept the score close the entire game. In the first set, Lucky Iosua for Poly had an ace and kill while Alii Oglesby and Jackson Trunnelle had some kills of their own. However, the first set ended in Millikan’s favor 25-21, led by Cryst’s nine kills.
Poly stayed within reach in the second set, even when Millikan had a five point run. The Jackrabbits had some notable blocks throughout the whole game, as jamming the Rams at the net seemed to be Poly’s strength of the night.
“We had our moments,” Poly’s coach Sid Davidson said, “We had certain times where we played good defense but overall, Millikan came to play.”
And play they did. Not only did Cryst have six kills in the second set, but senior Bryce Martinez was also on the end of six kills of his own. The Rams took set two 25-23.
The Jackrabbits still had some fight in them early in the third set. Matt Tsao had three kills for Poly but Millikan soon ran away with the win. Going on a five point run, almost immediately followed by a six point run allowed the Rams to win the third set 25-16 and ultimately beat the Jackrabbits on their own court.
The next big match for Long Beach Poly is Tuesday when they visit first place Wilson.
The Rams are set to face Wilson again on April 4th.
“We know what we can do,” Millikan head coach Matt Johnson said of the highly anticipated upcoming match. “If we can go in at full speed and strength, it’s going to make a difference.”
