Aotw
Athlete of the Week Basketball Long Beach Poly Long Beach State Millikan Soccer Volleyball

The562.org’s Athletes of the Week

Congratulations to our Athletes of the Week and thanks to Naples Rib Company for their sponsorship.

HIGH SCHOOL

Kalaya Buggs, Long Beach Poly Basketball

The Long Beach Poly girls’ basketball team stunned state experts last week, winning the Troy Classic with wins over state No. 2 Mater Dei and No. 5 Etiwanda. The Jackrabbits were led by Kalaya Buggs, who averaged 10 points, 7 rebounds, two assists, and five steals per game. Buggs earned Tournament MVP honors.

Vanessa Smith, Millikan Basketball

Junior Vanessa Smith led Millikan to a 4-0 start last week and the Ocean View Hawk Holiday Classic championship, as they defeated St. Anthony in the title game. Smith led the Rams with 14.8 points per game, as well as nine rebounds per game, two assists per game, and four steals per game.

Alyssa Reyes, Millikan Soccer

The Millikan Rams’ Moore League title defense got off on the right foot last week with a thrilling 2-1 win over Long Beach Poly. The hero for the Rams was Alyssa Reyes, who scored the game-winner in the final minute of the contest. Reyes found a mis-cleared ball and buried it in the net to give Millikan the win.

COLLEGE

Hailey Harward, Long Beach State Volleyball

Harward played her last match for Long Beach State last week but went out with a bang. She tied her career high with 27 digs in a tournament loss to Santa Clara, boosting her to 1,602 career digs, third all-time in program history. She also moved to No. 9 in program history with 116 aces.

 

Mike Guardabascio
An LBC native, Mike Guardabascio has been covering Long Beach sports professionally for 13 years, with his work published in dozens of Southern California magazines and newspapers. He's won numerous awards for his writing as well as the CIF Southern Section’s Champion For Character Award, and is the author of three books about Long Beach history.
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