Photo by Stephen Dachman
League favorites Wilson, Poly, and Lakewood all picked up wins to start 1-0 in league—stay tuned tomorrow, when we put up our 2010 Moore League Boys’ Volleyball Preview.
Wilson def. Millikan, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 25-20
With a lot of talent out the door due to graduation last year, it was unlikely that Wilson would continue their historic unbeaten-game streak from last year through this season. Not many would have predicted that they’d break the run in just the second set of the 2010 season, as a feisty Millikan squad made the Bruins pay.
“We kind of let up,” admitted Wilson coach Susan Pescar. “We didn’t give them the respect they deserved.”
Wilson appeared to have focus issues in the middle of each set, letting Millikan go on a 5-1 run in the first, a 4-0 run in the second, a 5-1 run in the third and a 4-0 run in fourth and final frame. Pescar called timeout after the latter two, and righted the ship as her team plowed through the remainder of the sets.
On opening day, Millikan proved coach Greg Krautz right when said his team makes up for its lack of club experience with grit and fight. Led by Bradley Wilson and Kilisi Suai, the Rams played with pride and showed they can be dangerous if taken lightly. A 7-3 run in the middle of the second game gave them 20-18 lead, which they clung to to take the set.
Wilson on the other hand showed that when they’re playing uptempo, focused volleyball, they can be incredible; but they don’t have the experience at every position to be consistent if they don’t maintain that focus. The Bruins were led by a great performance from Jake MacRae, who had 23 kills, 8 digs, 2 blocks and an assist; he was backed up by emotional play from Brandon Fuimaono, who had 15 kills (all of which were in danger of denting the gym floor) and 15 digs; Cory Leckie had a solid match at setter.
Poly def. Cabrillo, 26-24, 25-14, 25-18
With team leader John La Rusch on the bench to rest a minor injury, the Jackrabbits still swept the Jags, who put up a good fight, particularly in an extra-points first game. “They have a good squad,” said Poly coach Vuthy Cheav, who was pleased with his team’s performance.
Setter Garrett Covey had 20 assists and middle Jolon Clark had 8 kills and 4 blocks for the Rabbits.
Lakewood def. Jordan, 25-4, 25-20, 27-25
Lakewood has set their sights just as high as Wilson and Poly for this season, and they started off with an impressive performance against Jordan, who Lancers coach Jeremy Moenoa praised afterward. “They had a lot of athletic guys,” he said, “they’re a competitive team.” After a lopsided first set, Moenoa went to his bench for the second and third, as his team got their first win on opening day in the Moore League.