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  • Lakewood’s Storm Fa’agata smacks the ball against Millikan. Fa’agata notched...

    Lakewood’s Storm Fa’agata smacks the ball against Millikan. Fa’agata notched 16 kills and five digs.

  • Lakewood’s Justin Cayetano gets low for a dig against Millikan...

    Lakewood’s Justin Cayetano gets low for a dig against Millikan on Tuesday.

  • Millikan’s Tyler Moy dives for a ball during a Moore...

    Millikan’s Tyler Moy dives for a ball during a Moore League game against Lakewood on Tuesday.

  • Lakewood’s Kyle Tan sets up a play during a Moore...

    Lakewood’s Kyle Tan sets up a play during a Moore League game against Millikan on Tuesday.

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Don’t look now, but Poly isn’t the only Moore League team gearing up impressively for the CIF-SS Division 2 boys volleyball playoffs.

Ten days removed from an impressive triumph in the Foothill Varsity Classic, Lakewood High secured second place in the league and looked like a dangerous playoff team with a 25-23, 25-13, 25-17 sweep of third-place Millikan on Tuesday afternoon at Lakewood.

The victory raised the Lancers’ record to 23-7 overall and 8-2 in league play, their two losses both competitive matches against Poly. Millikan, which needed to win to set up a tie for second and improve its hopes for a good draw in the playoffs, fell to 14-14 overall and 7-3 in the league, with a match against Poly still left to be played.

BYU-bound senior Storm Fa’agata was his usual dominant self against Millikan, pounding down 16 kills to go with five digs and two aces. But this time he got some help from a number of players, including sophomore Justin Cayetano, who had 10 kills and five digs.

Kyle Tom set them up consistently, finishing with 25 assists.

“I definitely think we’re improving,” Lakewood coach Devon Taylor said. “Winning the Foothill tournament, beating teams like Foothill, Thousand Oaks and Laguna Hills, was big for our confidence.

“I think all the guys realized what we can do after that. We’ve improved on offense, taken some of the pressure off Storm, and we’ve really improved on defense.”

Poly remains the only Moore League team ranked in the latest CIF-Southern Section Division 2 poll (10th), but Lakewood garnered some votes from the coaches. Each victory at this point gives the Lancers a better chance of getting a decent draw in the playoffs.

“We all decided we had to step up for coach and Storm,” said Cayetano, who is only a sophomore. “I definitely think we’re getting better. It’s encouraging.”

Holding a dozen colorful balloons given to him on Senior Day by his family and friends, Fa’agata was his usual humble self after the match. But he clearly believes the Lancers have a chance to do something memorable in the playoffs.

“Winning the Foothill tournament was like a real mind-changer,” he said. “We showed what we can do. I’m really proud of what the team has accomplished.

“We’re tricking the other team more now with our offense. It’s not just me. A lot of guys are stepping up.”

Charles Belvin and Garrett Sherbet also had some effective kills during the match, which started off as if it were going to be very competitive. The Rams rallied from a 19-16 deficit to tie it at 22 on a serve by Nick Cramer, who also played effectively at the net at times.

Then Fa’agata took over. Getting good sets from Tom, he pounded down three kills to lead the Lancers to a 25-23 win in the first set.

From that point on, the Lancers looked like the better team and played with both precision and power. Leading the second set 10-6, they scored seven consecutive points on Joel Alamo’s serve, the surge highlighted by a variety of Fa’agata spikes and some solid defense.

A clever spike by Tom ended the second set at 25-13 even though Fa’agata sat out the final nine points.

Despite some good play from Millikan’s Cramer and Daniel Cilleti, the Lancers continued to dominate the third set. With Cayetano playing a bigger role, they led 15-5 before the Rams regrouped and took advantage of Fa’agata being on the bench to make it as close as 19-13. Fa’agata returned to the lineup for his final regular-season home match and the Lancers cruised to 25-17 to complete the sweep.

Lakewood plays two road matches at Compton and Wilson next week before entering the playoffs.

Contact the writer: jimthomas@lbregister.com