The562’s coverage of high school volleyball in 2024-2025 is brought to you by the MLP’s Bay Area Breakers.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.
The Long Beach Poly girls’ volleyball team is back in a big way under second-year coach Gerald Aquiningoc. The Jackrabbits jumped to the top of the Moore League with a co-league championship alongside Wilson last season, after a couple of years where they felt stuck in neutral. This year the Jackrabbits are poised to repeat with a pair of returning Division 1-committed All-League middle blockers.
“Our middles are again our strongest point with Kristen Dear (Howard University) and Layla Moore (CSUN) as well as Taimane Poe who’s super talented behind them,” said Aquiningoc. The Jackrabbits lost an expected top outside hitter to transfer but welcomed another in, as they’ll feature returners Cedra Talaga, Emma Holder, and Keyara Noel as well as Los Al transfer Aleeya Salima.
Junior Hannah Ballungay and Lauren Foster will split the setting duties in a 6-2 system, with Larissa Foster playing opposite along with either some of the outsides or 6’4” senior Dylan Thomas. The Jackrabbits’ biggest challenge will be replacing the team’s excellent passing from last year, a challenge with libero and Moore League Player of the Year Taylor Mercado now at Georgetown. The team’s liberos will be Taylor’s younger sister, Sydney Mercado, and Georgia Camandang.
The team is young, with several sophomores in key roles, but also features more top-tier returners than anyone else with Dear, Moore, and Talaga all back off the All-Moore League 2023 list.
“We played some of the elite teams in the nation when we went to Hawaii and our passing was exposed, we weren’t passing at an elite level,” said Aquiningoc. “And our attacking from the pins has to get harder–we’re right there, I like where we’re at, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Passing is important for every volleyball team obviously, but especially so for a team that wants to run their offense through their hyper-athletic middle blockers. Aquiningoc said that’s been an emphasis at every practice and workout for the Jackrabbits.
“They’re going to get the ball even when we’re off the net, it’s just continuously working on those things at practice,” he said.
With the new playoff format, Poly isn’t sure what division they’ll fall in for the CIF-SS postseason or how they’ll fare. But Aquiningoc thinks he’s got a talented young squad that’s ready to get better and compete in the playoffs.
“We’re playing a heavy dose of Open Division, Division 1 and 2 schools, and Division 3 where we were last year,” he said. “We’ll find out really quick where we belong.”
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