Beach volleyball is back in Long Beach, and Wilson is primed to defend their Moore League title with action beginning this week.
With some new and some returning stars, coach Jeremy Cook is excited about this year’s team.
The Bruins will send out the pairings of Simrin Adams and Sadie Calderone, Kate VanderWal and Dani Dobie, Peyton Agura and Milan Lewis, and Kierin Adams and Lyla Alvarado.
“We are excited to welcome back a healthy Jane Morrison who was forced to sit out the indoor season recovering from injury,” coach Jeremy Coach said.
Looking to boast their schedule with the playoffs in mind Wilson scheduled a competitive non-league slate with matches against St. Anthony, Capo Valley Christian, Crean Lutheran, Marina, Downey, San Clemente, Los Alamitos, St. Joseph, Mater Dei, and Gahr.
At Lakewood coach Jessica Kaeka is focusing on honing her team’s beach volleyball experience while also competing with the rest of the Moore League.
“We are focusing on a lot of growth,” Kaeka said. “You know we have a lot of freshmen and sophomores in the program that are new. So just trying to get them to understand the game, learn the basics and try to progress from there like I said winning is the goal, but we need to teach them a lot of the fundamentals.”
Kaeka expects a lot of duos Lalalei Hall and Carly Bercero, Alizae Leilua and Joleen Ong, and Emily Nanez and Jianne Lara.
At Millikan, Antoinette De la Espriella takes over the program after leading the indoor team.
“This is my first year taking over the beach program — so I’m not sure what to expect,” De la Espriella said. “I know last year we competed closely against Wilson, but I think we can anticipate Poly to put up some strong competition against us this year. We aren’t the tallest team, but we have grit and high IQ on the sand. These girls are ready to make a name for themselves and win Moore League.”
De la Espriella doesn’t have a lot of depth but is looking forward to how Aubrey Greene transitions from indoor after being a front row hitter.
“I am looking forward to seeing our freshmen beach players develop,” De la Espriella said. “We have had a few girls join the program who’ve never played before and are picking up the game really well. The younger girls are making their mark and I’m excited to see them grow over the next four years. It’s also great to see my leaders who played last year pick up where they left off and continue to lead and take their game to the next level.”
The Rams are also impressed with sophomore Sarah Thaut.
“She is someone that will make a big impression on the court and hopefully make a strong run through pairs playoffs,” De la Espriella said.
Long Beach Poly welcomes coach Litara Keil who takes over the program this season.
“I look forward to really rebuilding our program from the ground up and help grow the sport of beach volleyball within our young team and also our community,” Keil said.
While the Jackrabbits don’t have a lot of experienced firepower, Keil is looking forward to teaching the team fundamentals for a group that is still getting introduced to how things work on the sand.
“A lot of them are experiencing their first time on the sand with some years of indoor volleyball under their belt so that helps,” Keil said. “I’m really looking forward to a lot of learning and a lot of growth from our girls this season regardless of the end result.”
Poly’s top duo with the Jackrabbits’ lone win is Avery Milburn and Aleeya Salima.
“Avery brings a lot of talent and physicality to the team while Aleeya matches her energy and expertise on the sand from previous years,” Keil said. “Aleeya is probably our only player who’s had the most beach experience so seeing her progression with Avery will be really fun to witness this year.”
With an increase of athletes committing to the Jordan program, the Panthers are looking to compete with the rest of the Moore League.
“I am looking forward to seeing how the girls improve with their increased commitment to the program,” Jordan coach Lara Stone said. “Our third season in, and we are finally getting an attendance rate around 86 percent in comparison with a previous 20-30% average.”
The Panthers expect Julietta Cardenas Vidal Junior to stand out as well as Crystal Beltran who returns.
“This pair does not get easily discouraged in the game of pairs which is fun to watch,” Stone said.
Some new faces to the program are Joselin Castillo, Lizette Arellano, and Abigail Guadarrama who are in their first year on varsity.
“They are young players who are showing great strides with the game this year and a new level of focus that is dedicated to defense first,” Stones said.
A new face on the team is Yuri Rodriguez who joins the team after playing indoor with varsity this year.
At St. Anthony, the Saints are poised to defend their Del Rey League title and get into the playoffs.
Sophomore Brianna Mbire returns to the team after being second-team all league last season.
“I look forward to nothing but growth for our program, especially internally,” coach Curry said. “Capitalizing on how we get closer and better as a program with every practice and match will only help us in the long run.”
