In the second round, against Harvard-Westlake, Poly got a good look at how far their program has come—last night in the quarterfinals against top-seeded Newport Harbor, they got a chance to see how far they have left to go, losing a lopsided match 25-16, 25-15, 20-25, 25-15.

Oddly, those scores perhaps make the match seem more closely contested than it really was, as the Sailors had firm control of all but the third set from start to finish.  After a 3-3 start to the first frame, they rattled off a 9-0 run; up 4-3 in the second, Newport put up five straight.  The Sailors’ Kirby Burnham shined on the outside, racking up at least six kills in each set, and Katey Thompson was dominant in the middle, often spiking unopposed balls straight down.

The Sailors played excellently in all phases of the game, passing crisply, digging balls no other opponent of Poly has gotten under, and bringing the power on their kill attempts.  Poly, however, seemed as out of sync as a team could be, with mental lapses on defense, poorly passed, set, and hit balls, and generally a lack of rhythm.  Litara Keil and Bria Russ each scored in double digits in kills, but they never really took over, and they didn’t come in big runs. 

“They do everything we don’t,” Poly coach Leland McGrath said after the match.  “They’re a legit, legit program—they don’t have bad nights.  When they have a bad night, they lose to a two-seed in five, when we have a bad night, this happens.”

The only real positive for Poly in the match is that time is still on their side.  Expert setter Rainette Uiato leaves the team for Hawaii now, but every other player who gets significant playing time will be back—Keil and Russ will be seniors, as will Felicia Clements, Alisa Mesa (who will likely take over for Uiato), libero Ally Moskitis (who had 30 digs), and middle Sa Iosia.  Latecomer Zana Bowens, who provided a much-needed spark to the team in the second half of the season, will be a junior next season.

McGrath is glad to get to keep working with his team, and says he’s definitely seen mental and physical improvement from the Rabbits this year.  Referencing his team’s ceiling, he said, “Hey, if we play again tomorrow, maybe it goes five sets—they were just ready tonight.  There was a sense of urgency over there, that we need to get.”