The562’s coverage of high school volleyball in 2024 is brought to you by the MLP’s Bay Area Breakers.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
Photo courtesy student photographer Victor Lao
Back on September 5, the Millikan Rams appeared poised for a key win over the Wilson Bruins. Leading two sets to none on their home floor, they were in the driver’s seat to place themselves among the Moore League title contenders. However, they were unable to capitalize on that early advantage, falling in five sets for a frustrating loss.
But Tuesday started a whole new month, and the Rams were determined to not let history repeat itself. Sure enough, they took a 2-0 lead over Wilson, only this time, they finished the job with an impressive 27-25, 25-17, 26-24 victory.
“I’m so proud of them,” said Millikan head coach Antoinette De la Espriella of her team. “I tell them to be very process-oriented, as much as we want to win every single game and every single match, we try to focus on the process. And today it was proof of that pudding, I would say, because the last game that we faced Wilson, we were so close and we just couldn’t close it down.”
Tuesday’s win was made more impressive for the Rams considering starting senior middle Cali Tirado was out injured, along with senior DS Mikayla Brumbelow, leaving the Rams’ lineup in flux. Despite those setbacks, the Rams played with freedom and confidence that helped them overcome a quality opponent on the road.
“There’s just been so much ebb and flow between the starters and the non-starters, but everybody’s ready to step up and do their job when it’s time, so it feels great,” De la Espriella said.
Senior opposite Juda Washington had a match-high 12 kills while adding three blocks for the Rams, who did a nice job spreading things around. Freshman Parker Brumbelow and junior Bethany Arnold each had six kills on the outside and libero Sarah Thaut led a strong service game for the Rams with five aces on the day.
“Honestly, our energy was just at max level, probably the most energy I’ve ever seen on the team, and that’s probably what brought us our win,” Washington said. “When we bring our energy and we’re cheering and loud, it really brings us up and kind of gets into the other team’s heads and that’s what we really need. Everybody was just on fire today and playing their best, it was awesome.”
The Rams jumped out to a 10-4 lead in set one, but watched the home team regain control of the set behind junior Milan Lewis, who had five kills and a pair of aces in the opening frame to give Wilson a 22-17 edge late.
However, Millikan won 10 of the final 13 points of the set, surviving three set points and closing on a 6-1 run to take an important 1-0 lead in the match.
Wilson came out strong in the second set with a 6-1 lead, but the Rams settled down after a timeout. Thaut would serve a 9-0 Millikan run which included three aces, putting the visitors on top 12-7. The Rams never relinquished their advantage to cruise to the 2-0 lead. The only question was, could they make it stick this time?
The third set went back and forth with runs for both sides, with Wilson again taking a five-point lead in the third game (14-9) before seeing it slip away. Uncharacteristic mistakes hurt the Bruins throughout the match, while the Rams were able to capitalize on those miscues.
Wilson showed fight late in the set with a 4-0 run to survive four match points and force a Millikan timeout. But the Rams got right back in control with a perfectly-executed dump shot from setter Lila Walters, before Washington put away the match-winning kill off the block on the next point.
Wilson sophomore Simrin Adams led her team with nine kills, followed by Lewis with eight. The loss will likely knock the Bruins out of the Moore League title hunt leading up to their regular season finale at Long Beach Poly on Oct. 15.
Millikan hosts Compton on Thursday and still has home games against Poly and Lakewood left on their schedule. But Tuesday’s win not only gave them a bit of revenge over Wilson, but a window into how well the team can compete when they play free and play together. Or as De la Espriella might tell them, it’s another step of the process.
“Our hashtag is ‘no fear of failure’. We have that on our T-shirts and we play with that in our heart,” De la Espriella said. “We told our girls, ‘Go out there, don’t be afraid to make a mistake, leave it all on the court, play with your heart.’ And you could see that today.”
