Long Beach Poly’s Shahi Ifrad gets the point over Wilson’s Cooper Campbell in Moore League action on Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Wyatt Sheetz, middle, and teammate Shahi Ifrad converge at the net with Wilson’s Merrick Evans n Moore League action on Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Wyatt Sheetz scores a point over Wilson defenders in Moore League play on Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly outside hitter Nicholas Frank, left, eases the ball over Wilson’s Mathias Espirity for a Jackrabbits point in their three-set sweep over the Bruins on Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Josiah Walton, left, and Josiah Hill defend a Wilson hit for a point in the Jackrabbits’ sweep over the Bruins on Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Tobin Hackney goes up for a kill in action against Long Beach Poly on Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Josiah Walton sets the ball in action against Wilson on Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Merrick Evans reacts after his first set point in Moore League action versus Long Beach Poly on Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson’s Merrick Evans watches his hit sail past the Long Beach Poly defense in Moore League action on Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Wilson libero Blake Hardley returns a Long Beach Poly serve in Moore League action on Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Josiah Hill signals the offense play in action against Wilson on Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly’s Dylan Bocu watches his kill sail past Wilson defenders for a point in Moore League action on Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly boys volleyball head coach Sid Davidson follows the action against Wilson on Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
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Long Beach Poly’s Shahi Ifrad gets the point over Wilson’s Cooper Campbell in Moore League action on Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
LONG BEACH — The Long Beach Poly boys volleyball team cruised to a sweep of Long Beach Wilson, 25-16, 25-17, 25-18, in a Moore League match Thursday.
Poly (12-8, 4-0) kept pace with Millikan in the league standings. The Jackrabbits will visit the Rams on Tuesday.
FINAL 🏐: Long Beach Poly sweeps Wilson 25-16, 25-17, 25-18 @BeachVarsity @johnwdavis pic.twitter.com/tdCq0LSTvx
— Tracy McDannald 📎 (@Tracy_McDannald) March 19, 2026
Poly coach Sid Davidson said his team “played with a purpose.”
“That was one of the things we talked about in the beginning of the match,” Davidson said. “We haven’t been playing with intent. We wanted to make sure we had a faster start.”
Nicholas Frank led the Jackrabbits with 14 kills and a block and opposite hitter Wyatt Sheetz added 12 kills and a block. Setter Josiah Walton distributed 36 assists to go with five digs.
Wilson (7-9, 3-2), which entered the contest with a chance to move into a tie for second place, quickly fell behind 15-4 at the start of a match that was moved up 30 minutes due to a scheduling conflict for the gymnasium.
Davidson said his team’s service pressure contributed to the quick start.
“It kind of helped us out that we did,” Davidson said.
The Bruins had a more competitive showing over the next two sets, but a lack of communication and inconsistent passing thwarted any hopes of stealing a set.
On a number of occasions, the ball dropped between multiple Wilson players and contributed to six attack errors over the final two frames.
Wilson trailed 9-5 early in the third set before pulling within a point on a pair of occasions. However, Poly took advantage of the mental miscues to rattle off six consecutive points capped by a Walton block to push the lead to 19-12.
Sheetz, who’s final kill finished off the match, said that he could sense the difference in communication between the teams.
“The key tonight, I want to talk about our communication,” Sheetz said. “I feel like everyone, after every single point, we all came together. We were talking about what we were doing wrong, and it just went so well. Thanks to the bench, I could tell they were cheering us on the entire time.
“Playing against our rival, I feel like the energy was just there and it really helped the entire game.”
Wilson was paced by captain and setter Mathew Espiritu, whose blocking was his bigger, more consistent contribution. He had three of the team’s six blocks in the final two sets. Bruins opposite hitter Carson Kollin chipped in four kills in the final set.
Davidson said his team’s own blocking has been a problem area this season.
“I said, ‘Look, if we’re not going to get any blocks, let’s get some smart touches,’” Davidson said.
The Jackrabbits’ strong serve produced three aces apiece in the second and third sets. Walton had two of the aces.
Davidson said his players corrected their serve after unsuccessfully trying to use a jump serve from the outset.
“We have a good jump float system, let’s just keep the service pressure on them,” Davidson said. “We wanted to keep them out of system and, for the most part, I think we did a decent job of that.”
Walton’s contributions gave Poly a balanced attack, as middle blocker Josiah Hill chipped in eight kills as a solid third option.
Davidson credited it to Walton’s “poise” despite being a sophomore.
“I think that’s what we need in a volleyball team,” Sheetz added. “Setting the middle, setting the back row — we were running plays the entire night.”