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Teams that make a CIF-SS championship tend to have talent and grit — but they don’t always have “the Long Beach” in them.
That was the difference with Long Beach Poly in the midst of the fifth set of their CIF-SS Division 3 championship against Bishop Diego at Cerritos College. The Jackrabbits showed their heart for the city with a championship on the line, beating the Cardinals in an all-time five set battle 25-27, 25-22, 16-25, 25-14, 15-12.
“It’s just the grit, it’s the Long Beach in them, ” said Poly coach Gerald Aquiningoc. “It feels amazing. I can’t even put it into words yet I haven’t processed it. It was up and down but it’s just them, they don’t give up. That fifth set when it was win or go home they went into the huddle and said ‘we’re not losing. We’re not going home without a ring.’”
The championship win is Poly’s third in girls volleyball program history and the 131st CIF-SS championship in school history which is the most of any school. It’s also the Jackrabbits’ first volleyball championship since 2010.
“Just look at this man, it’s amazing,” said Aquiningoc of the closeness of his team. The Jackrabbits boast a diverse group of girls who he describes as a family. “The bond that we have is just unbreakable and too undeniably good to lose. They did their very best today [and as the game went on] we just decided we’re not losing.”
The Jackrabbits jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first set before a sudden injury to opposite Emma Holder. The senior awkwardly landed on her feet before falling to the ground in a grimace over her knee, and was helped off of the court into the locker room.
With one of his senior captains out, Aquiningoc subbed in outside hitter Taimane Poe who served as a seventh-man for the Jackrabbits throughout the course of the season. Poe took time to adjust to the game, but she came on strong for Poly with 10 kills on .241 hitting in what was the sophomores first time ever playing in a playoff game.
“My heart was beating really fast but I knew I had to come through for my teammates because it was obviously a really big game, “ she said. “It means a lot to me [to be able to contribute]. My self-talk is super important to me and I think that my skill is good but my confidence is what made me better.”
“Taimane did such a good job. I’m so, so proud of her,” said Holder, who eventually returned out of the locker room on crutches and cheered her team on from the bench. “I had to come to terms with the fact that I was not getting back out onto the court and at that point it was just about supporting the six people that were out there. I thought, ‘well, we better get this damn ring now.’”
After a first set that went to extra points, the Jackrabbits rallied in the second by fighting off a late service-run by Bishop Diego. The Cardinals strong serve spilled into the third set though, where they received five and six point service runs from sisters Eliana and Karina Urzua, respectively.
Senior and UCLA commit Eliana Urzua also posed a threat on the outside as one of the best hitters that the Poly block has faced alongside teammate and Loyola Marymount commit Nicole Schuetz. The pair both stand 6-foot-3 and swung at the ball a combined 111 times while accounting for 36 of the Cardinals 48 kills.
Poly countered with blockers Layla Moore and Kristin Dear, who held off the pair and held Urzua to a .095 hitting percentage after she had 28 kills in the semis. Moore racked up three blocks while Dear had four.
“I was looking across the net and thought, ‘I’m gonna block her. I need to do this for my teammates and I’m going to block this girl,’” Dear said. “I feel like when you tell yourself you’re going to do something you do it.”
While down two sets to one, the Jackrabbits finally found their groove with their serve attack in the fourth set. Poly received huge service runs from Cedra Saolotoga-Talaga, Lauren Foster, and Sydney Mercado who each contributed to the 12 total Poly aces. Saolotoga-Talaga and Foster both had runs of six points to close the fourth, while Mercado racked up a game-high five aces.
“It was absolutely crazy, we just kept resetting and bringing each other together and saying ‘we got this.’” said Mercado of Poly’s serve as the game went on. “And the fact that we won and I was able to contribute with my serving, it was amazing. To be a part of it in the moment feels great. We’re on top of the world right now.”
Saolotoga-Talaga chipped in an ace through her service run, but also finished with 15 digs and a team-high 14 kills. She said she knew she had to step up on the outside and contributed to the Jackrabbits momentum shift in the fourth set.
“I knew I was gonna have to be versatile on the outside knowing I’d have to put balls away. Our passing was breaking down, but I told myself I needed to work with it and put them away. I’m just grateful that my teammates have all that trust in me, and I wouldn’t wanna be with anyone else.”
After falling to a 1-4 deficit in the fifth set Poly battled back with a three point service run from Aleeya Salima. The Jackrabbits relied on Salima alongside Dear to help push the team past the finish line as the two combined for 10 kills in the final two sets. Salima also hit an efficient .269 while Dear hit a game high .571.
“It felt really nice [to help my team get the momentum in the fifth set],” said Dear. “The energy from the crowd fed into the team and that’s why we [go crazy after every point] because I feel like if we go crazy than everyone else goes crazy.”
Bishop Diego received a game-high 19 kills from Schuetz and 17 from Eliana Urzua. Karina Urzua finished with a game-high 38 assists, while Eliana had a game high 19 digs. The sisters also chipped in four aces each.
Saolotoga-Talaga lead Poly with 14 kills while Poe and Salima each had 10. Dear chipped in nine kills and Saolotoga-Talaga and Salima both had 15 digs.
The Jackrabbits will finish up celebrating their CIF-SS Division 3 championship before Sunday when CIF State brackets are released. We’ll have updates as those brackets release in the afternoon and their first match will be on Tuesday.
