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On a windy Thursday afternoon at the LBCC sand courts, the Millikan Rams were able to endure a tough challenge from Long Beach Poly, emerging with a 5-0 victory that was much closer than the scoreline indicates.
Three of the five matches went to a third set, but the Rams were able to win all three to secure a victory in their Moore League opener.
“I was very happy with their performance today,” said Millikan head coach Antoinette De la Espriella. “I don’t think it was our best across the board, but I thought that they handled the wind and then the adversity of having to come back and close out the third set really well, which I was happy with.”
The duo of Parker Brumbelow and Lila Walters had the smoothest outcome on Court 3, winning 21-11, 21-6 to give the Rams an early advantage. That lead improved to 2-0 when Sophia Orbiso and Aubrey Greene took a 21-11, 21-11 win at the No, 2 spot.
That left action at both ends of the court, with a third set for flights 1, 4, and 5. Johanna Swerdloff and Bella Bonales got the win at No. 5 with a great bounceback from a set one loss. After falling behind with a 21-17 loss to Vivienne Irwin and Finley Stuart, they took control of their match to win the next two frames 21-9, 15-8.
Olivia Vitz and Macy Blackman won a back-and-forth match at the No. 4 spot, with a final tally of 21-10, 21-23, 15-11.
All eyes went to the top flight matchup as Sarah Thaut and Bethany Arnold were in a super even showdown with Poly’s Aleeya Salima and Avery Milburn. The Rams won the opening set 25-23 before the Jackrabbits took the second by a score of 21-18.
Poly had the lead late, and had set point at 14-12, but Millikan used a clutch 4-0 run to sprint to the finish line and secure the team sweep.
Looking ahead to next week, both teams will be back in action on Tuesday at the LBCC sand courts. Poly will face Jordan at 3:15 p.m. while the Rams will be back in action on Tuesday, taking on defending league champions Wilson at 4:15 p.m.
“I think just being able to stop them earlier, take out some quick leads in games, and then being able to be dynamic within our defense and offense,” said De la Espriella on the keys to the Wilson matchup. “Being able to block, should we need to, and being able to place the ball in the right spot, not just putting it down with power.”
Below are the scores for each of the five flights:
- Sarah Thaut/Bethany Arnold (MIL) def. Aleeya Salima/Avery Milburn (LBP) 25-23, 18-21, 16-14
- Sophia Orbiso/Aubrey Greene (MIL) def. Lauren Foster/Taimane Poe (LBP) 21-11, 21-11
- Parker Brumbelow/Lila Walters (MIL) def. Londyn Foster/Dayna Lagafuaina (LBP) 21-11, 21-6
- Olivia Vitz/Macy Blackman (MIL) def. Simone Millsap/Giselle Millsap (LBP) 21-10, 21-23, 15-11
- Johanna Swerdloff/Bella Bonales (MIL) def. Vivienne Irwin/Finley Stuart (LBP) 17-21, 21-9, 15-8
