The senior night celebrations before the match at Wilson on Thursday proved why the Bruins stand apart from their Moore League counterparts. While the Lancers and the Jackrabbits have rosters full of talented sophomores, the Bruins recognized seven graduating seniors, including Janisa Johnson, Deveny Pula, and Amanda Pacheco. “Last year, we were the babies,” said Wilson coach Susan Pescar. “I mean, we only played one senior last year.” The experience her group of seniors have gained over the last three years is probably responsible for their consistent play, which has put them above Poly and Lakewood all season. With Thursday’s three-set win over Poly (25-21, 25-10, 25-14), the Bruins have clinched their sixth Moore League title in seven years, and will head into CIF playoffs next week ranked number two in the Southern Section.
The Bruins opened on an 8-3 run, before the streaky ‘Rabbits answered with their own 8-3 run, tying the set at 11-11. Then the next series demonstrated why Moore League volleyball can be so exciting, as the teams tied on every single point from 11 to 19. Then, capitalizing on a few Poly errors and pushing hard with Pescar’s aggressive gameplan, the Bruins went on a 5-1 run en route to the 25-21 first set victory.
After that the Jackrabbits seemed to give up, as Wilson dominated the second set—without a Wilson net error, the ‘Rabbit wouldn’t even have hit double digits. The third set wasn’t much more competitive, and the Bruins cruised to the three-set victory, clinching the League title and defeating the number nine-ranked Southern Section team in Poly. “I think we looked very…young out there,” said Poly coach Leland McGrath. “Wilson is almost as good as it gets, and I have to give credit to Susan for outcoaching me again, but I’m hoping this is a positive. I have my team’s ears now. If we’d won, it might have been harder to get them prepared for CIF, but losing like this will make it easier to motivate them.”
Pescar praised Poly’s talent, and refused to dismiss the importance of a League title, even though her team has loftier goals in mind. “This league is so tough, you can’t take it for granted. It’s part of the preseason goals: win league, then go after the section championship.” If they can continue to play aggressive, nearly error-free ball, they’ll be a foe nobody wants to face in the CIF playoffs—not least of all Poly and Lakewood, who could very well face the Bruins down the road. Lakewood will host Wilson on Thursday, for one last clash of the titans before playoffs get under way.