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Coming off a pair of emotional five-set comebacks, including in the CIF-SS championship match on Saturday, it takes a certain amount of mental fortitude to get back up for the CIF State tournament.
But this group of Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits has cleared every hurdle placed before them this season, and their playoff run ain’t over yet. The resilient Jackrabbits embraced the moment and delighted their home crowd with a 25-15, 20-25, 25-17, 25-21 victory over Cypress on Tuesday night in round one of the CIF State Division II Girls’ Volleyball Championships.
“I told the team, this game is gonna be the biggest mental test for us,” said Poly head coach Gerald Aquiningoc after the win. “It’s gonna let us know if we’re content with what we did, or are we gonna still be hungry? And we just kind of talked about being simple. I think there were some times tonight where we were pressing a little bit, trying to do too much. But when they settled in and did their thing we played good.”
Aquiningoc said that after getting the team together for a loose practice and a team brunch on Monday, they decided to move on from their CIF-SS championship and focus on winning the tournament in front of them.
Look no further than sophomore captain and emotional leader Cika Talaga, who led the team with nine kills and three aces on Tuesday while keeping the energy high for the green & gold.
“Before every game, we pray a lot on our intentions for the game and what we want throughout the game,” Talaga said. “Coming into this match we talked about, is this how we are gonna go out and finish our year? We won a CIF championship, and that was a great feeling, but we knew we all wanted more coming into this game. We knew that’s not how we want to finish.”
Led by four kills and an ace from Talaga, the Jackrabbits raced out to a 1-0 lead in the match in a comfortable opening set. But the visiting Centurions were able to settle down in the second, opening on a 9-3 run to find their footing and even the match. Cypress junior Isabella Faro had six of her match-high 13 kills in that frame, and senior middle Marissa Krebs had three huge blocks and a pair of kills as well.
But despite that minor setback, the Jackrabbits quickly regained control. It was the first set they’d lost at home during the playoffs, but they were able to find their groove again midway through set three and never looked back.
“In practice, we do drills where we’re down seven points and we have to work through adversity to get back up,” said Talaga of the team’s mental strength. “I feel like Gerald does a really good job in practice setting up drills like that for us to prepare us for moments like this.”
The Jackrabbits went on a key 8-1 run in the third set to take a 17-12 lead, pulling away for the 25-17 win. Poly got five aces from four different players in set three, as their serve was once again a difference-maker. The Jackrabbits finished with 13 aces as a team, led by three each from Talaga, Sydney Mercado and Aleeya Salima.
Despite another lull in set four which saw the Jackrabbits trailing 6-1 early, they were able to use their service game to get right back in front. An 11-5 deficit turned into a 16-14 Poly lead behind an ace from Talaga and two from Salima.
The visitors were able to claw back to tie the set at 21-all, but the Jackrabbits scored the final four points of the night to secure the win, ending on a roof from Layla Moore and Larrissa Foster Elisara.
Moore and fellow middle Kristen Dear each had a team-leading five blocks in the match, with Dear collecting eight kills and Moore putting down six. Salima and Mercado both reached double-digit digs to go with their trio of aces.
Krebs had nine kills and four blocks for Cypress while Kendel Harris had 10 kills for the Centurions.
The Jackrabbits will hit the road for Thursday night’s second round game, making the 2+ hour bus trip out to Bakersfield to take on Centennial High. The Golden Hawks are the No. 2 seed in the Division II bracket with a 27-10 overall record. They defeated Rancho Cucamonga 25-13, 25-10, 25-12 in their state playoff opener.
“I’ve told them in this tournament, we’re not going to play anybody that we haven’t seen already,” Aquiningoc said. “Our schedule in the beginning of the season, we play the best teams in California, Hawaii, Nebraska and Texas, so we’re not going to be surprised by anything. But with that long bus drive, this tournament is all mental, man. It’s all mental. But them being able to always get together when things get rough, that is what I’m proud of the most with the group.
“Right now, they’re having fun, and that’s what it’s gonna take to win this thing. No pressure. We’ve accomplished so much this season that this is gravy. But they really want it.”
