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 Millikan athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Curtis Boyer.
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.
On a night where Millikan girls volleyball honored their seniors, it was junior Elle Lundahl who provided a lift for the Rams as they faced Long Beach Poly.
Lundahl hammered home 17 kills as the Rams mounted comebacks in the second and third sets to defeat the Jackrabbits 25-18, 25-23, 25-23 to secure the third place spot in the Moore League standings.
“It was super emotional,” Lundahl said about playing during senior night. “I’ve played with these seniors for two years and there all going to go. I’m going to miss them so much. I just really love and appreciate them.”
After an early 1-1 tie, Millikan went on a furious 7-0 run that was capped by an ace from Sydney Thaut.
The Jackrabbits fought back after a timeout and cut Millikan’s lead to 12-11. Poly’s front line of Layla Moore and Imajaleah Goggins played a big part as they affected Millikan’s attack.
The Rams adjusted and took a 20-15 lead as they eventually took the first set 25-18.
In the second set, Millikan jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but an attacking error gave the Jackrabbits a little moments and Hailie McGinest and Goggins got things going as they tied the match and took a 7-4 lead.
It was that kind of back-and-forth battle between both teams as there were 10 ties and 7 lead changes as they battled in front of a big crowd.
After a service error gave Poly a 23-22 lead, Millikan took the next three points and the set 25-23 to take a 2-0 lead.
“We really just wanted to lock into our place in league today,” senior Aaliyah Fasavalu said. “We wanted to come back from our last game against them. We’ve been practicing really hard, and I think it just really showed today.”
Fasavalu had a big impact at the net with four solo blocks on the night.
Poly continued to fight in the third set as the Jackrabbits jumped out to an 8-3 lead behind some errors and kills from McGinest and Fuamatu.
But just as they did in the second set, the Rams battled back again to tie the set and take an 11-10 lead.
Poly answered right back and built a 21-17 lead. Millikan then mounted a comeback to tie things up and Lundahl finished the match serving as the Rams came back from 23-22 with three straight points to take the match.
The Rams will be on the road on Thursday at Lakewood while Poly will host Wilson.
