Photo by Stephen Dachman
For the first time in—well, nobody was quite sure how long, but a long time—Poly (3-0) defeated Wilson (2-1) on the hardwood to take sole possession of first place in the Moore League, 29-27, 25-19, 15-25, 25-22. Poly coach Vuthy Cheav said the Rabbits definitely hadn’t taken a match (or even a set) off Wilson since he started coaching the team four years ago, Wilson coach Susan Pescar thought it may have been in 2002 that the Bruins last lost to Poly, and a Poly fan told media he thought it was 1997 or 98 that it last happened. One way or another, it was an historic afternoon, and a huge confidence boost for a young, gelling Poly team.
“It’s the biggest thing…I mean, I don’t want to say it’s the biggest thing ever, but it’s really big,” said Poly middle Jolon Clark.
It was a great, back-and-forth match with more long, quality rallies than some teams will see in a season—here’s how it happened.
Set One: Poly wins 29-27
The first frame set the tone—after an error filled start from Poly got Wilson off to a 4-0 lead, the Rabbits played from behind, trailing 19-15 before going on a 3-0 run. Still, they were behind 23-20, then went on another 3-0 run to tie it at 23. The score tied again at 24, 25, 26, and 27 before Poly finally took over. The Rabbits fought off set point once, and Wilson held the Rabbits off three times before succumbing. “We slowed down, which is a disaster for us because we’re a fast team,” said Pescar of her team’s inability to close out the set.
Set Two: Poly wins 25-19
There was a little bit of tug-of-war in the second set, with Poly going up 5-2, Wilson utilizing a 5-0 run to go up 10-8, before Poly finally took the lead for good at 14-13. Poly’s middles, particularly Clark, were outstanding in the second, and it became clear that Wilson wasn’t going to stop Poly’s offense by shadowing top Rabbit hitter John La Rusch. “They really are a team,” said Cheav. “They say, ‘I can do this,’ and they help John out. The back row stepped up big.”
Set Three: Wilson wins 25-15
This set actually wasn’t as close as the final score implies; with Clark sidelined with a serious cramp, Poly fell out of rhythm, and Wilson took advantage. At one point Wilson led 21-7, as the Rabbits went from wondering if they could sweep the Bruins to wondering if they could break double-digits. Jake MacRae and Brandon Fuimaono were in the zone for Wilson, and in that way that only happens in volleyball, momentum seemed to have swung all the way back to the home team.
Set Four: Poly wins 25-22
The match’s deciding set was also its most competitive, with four ties and six lead changes; this was the set that featured the least service and hitting errors, and which showed the potential for how great the rematch between these teams on April 29th could be. After the final point, the Poly bench erupted in celebration.
“We all needed this,” said La Rusch. “We’re going to take it and use it.”
La Rusch finished with a team-leading 11 kills, as well as 3 blocks and 3 aces. Clark had 7 kills and 4 blocks, and was a swing-altering presence at the net. Junior Brenden Togioka excelled at libero, with 12 digs; but his passing helped give the Poly offense the rhythm Wilson struggled to find. Garrett Covey had 25 assists at the setter position.
For Wilson, Cory Leckie had 30 assists, 3 blocks, 2 aces, and 10 digs, Fuimaono had 12 kills, a block, 2 aces, and 23 digs, and MacRae had 7 kills, a block, 3 aces, and 11 digs. Luke Pope finished with 8 kills.
“They’re devastated,” said Pescar of her team after the match. “They probably feel like they let Wilson down—but they didn’t. Poly is a wonderful team, and this was just one match. Win or lose we try to tell our teams that.”
Cheav emphasized that as well. “They’ve come a long way together, and they didn’t give up today even after Wilson made a run…but we have to play them again. We told our kids, have fun tonight, but we’ll see you tomorrow.”