Wilson Utilizes Youth in Win

Good thing the match ended quickly. Cynthia Barboza had some work to do.

Barboza and her teammates at Long Beach Wilson High had reason to celebrate after defeating Van Nuys, 15-5, 15-8, 15-5, in the first round of the girls’ volleyball Southern Regional Division I playoffs, but Barboza had other plans for the bus ride back to Long Beach.

“I intend to sleep and do homework,” said one of the top freshman volleyball players in the nation. “I’ve got 84 flash cards I have to memorize.”

Barboza earned the right to do whatever she wanted, even if it was studying vocabulary words, after delivering 18 kills with one hitting error Tuesday at Van Nuys, leading the Bruins (25-7) to their first victory in a state playoff.

Three days earlier, Barboza led the Bruins with 21 kills as they won their first Southern Section championship, defeating Long Beach Poly in five games in the Division I-AA title match.

Against Van Nuys, the Bruins lacked the intensity they showed in their emotional victory over Poly, which had defeated Wilson three times during the regular season.

But Barboza, a 6-footer who can play middle blocker or outside hitter, helped put away Van Nuys with three early kills in the third game that sparked a 10-1run.

“I can’t even imagine what she’ll be like as a senior,” Wilson Coach Susan Pescar said. “I’ll be sure to stick around for that.”

Emily Hendrickson had 15 kills and four aces, and Ali Finucane had 13 kills for the Bruins (25-7), who play at San Diego Torrey Pines (32-1) on Saturday.

Hala Hadawar had 10 kills and Tara Teslaa had nine kills for Van Nuys (17-2), which defeated Palisades in five games to win the City Section championship.

“We had a very good season, but we didn’t bring our best game tonight,” said assistant coach Robert Grella, filling in for Coach Dave Bessler, who was on vacation.