This site launched its Moore League volleyball coverage over a month ago, on the occasion of the Steve Lewis Volleyfest, played at the Palmer Pavilion on the Poly Campus.  On that day, Poly, Lakewood, and Wilson all played great teams from around the region—Lakewood played Orange Lutheran, losing in five sets of tightly-paced, exciting volleyball.  Thursday evening, it was déjà vu, as the Lutheran Lancers knocked the Poly Jackrabbits out of the CIF bracket in the most evenly-matched second-round contest of the day (O. Lu was ranked 7^th in CIF-SS and Poly was ranked 9^th), by a score of 25-21, 16-25, 29-27, 19-25, 15-12.  As disappointing as the result is for the Poly team and fans, it was one of the most exciting matches any high school team played this year.

Set one was a good microcosm for the match, and for Poly’s season—the two teams tied on fifteen of the first nineteen points, but then, knotted at 19, Poly lost its nerve and O. Lu went on a 6-2 run to win the set.  As usual, it was Poly’s stellar sophomore class that made the most noise in the opener, as Felicia Clement came out looking to build off her great performance against Esperanza on Tuesday.  She had five of her eight kills in the first, then seemed to fade in the following sets.

Poly rebounded and blew the Lancers out in the second, behind dominating performances by sophomores Bria Russ and Litara Kiel, who combined for 12 points in the second.  There were so many places Poly could have won the game, but the third set was probably the missed opportunity that was hardest to overcome—the Lancers led up until point eight, when they passed the baton off to Poly.  Then, at 16, they tied again, something they’d do ten more times on the way to the Lancers taking a 29-27 victory.  The ‘Rabbits had three match points, but could never capitalize.  In set four they showed an improved ability to finish—tied at 17, kills from Kiel and Russ, and a pair of aces from Kiel, helped spur the ‘Rabbits to a 25-19 win, setting up the dramatic fifth set.

The crowd was loud and raucous—if you’ve ever been to a Moore League/Trinity League contest, between any two teams, in any two sports, you know the kind of raucous I mean.  Namely, competing chants, some jeering, and a whole lot of volume.  The Poly football team, who beat O. Lu 2-0 in the CIF semifinals last year, got involved, with a contingent of about 20 players leading the chants on the Poly side.  The tension was high and the atmosphere electric.  Not exactly the relaxed environment that Poly’s young team has thrived on this season—with their physical talent, the Jackrabbits have excelled in matches where they could stay loose and just swing. 

They scored the first point of the set off a Bria Russ kill, and then held the lead until the Lancers tied it at seven.  They traded off points until they both hit ten, and then O. Lu pulled away, never looking back on their way to a 15-12 victory that catapults them into the CIF quarterfinals on Saturday.

For Poly, the loss (by a combined score of 110-104) ends a season that saw them go from a young team not eliciting many expectations, to a top ten contender.  Russ finished the match with 21 kills, Kiel ended with six blocks and nine kills, and Nailah Waterfield completes her career as a Jackrabbit (she’s one of two seniors on the squad), with a team-high 14 digs.  “I actually thought that was close to our best game, our most complete game of the season,” said Poly coach Leland McGrath.  “I’m hoping the loss is going to piss our sophomores off so much that they get into the weight room tomorrow.”

“I think we all fought our hardest and did what we could,” an emotional Russ said after the match.  When asked about the prospect of returning as many players next season as the Jackrabbits will be, she brightened a little.  “I’m really excited about next season.”