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September 12, 2024
By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
GARDEN GROVE-It’s been a long time since the John Glenn High girls volleyball team had something to smile about. Since the pandemic, the Eagles have gone 1-16, 9-20 and 4-13. But this season could be the one the program has been waiting for since the late 1990s.
Glenn entered this past Tuesday’s match with Rancho Alamitos High winners of five straight, but the Vaqueros, who have lost just twice all season, had enough to top the Eagles 25-13, 19-25, 25-16, 25-23. Glenn fell to 8-3 as it faced Magnolia High this past Wednesday.
Coincidentally, in all three losses, the Eagles have dropped the first set as they were swept by San Gabriel High on Aug. 14 and Mark Keppel High eight days later. They also lost the first set against Alhambra High on Aug. 20 but ended up winning in five sets.
“I’m constantly trying to tell the girls that we’re not at that level where we can afford to give away any runs of any sorts,” said Glenn head coach Daniel Reyes. ‘Sometimes I tell them when you come out flat, that’s when teams jump all over you. I know typically, we’re the kind of team where we need to be the aggressors in the first set and try to steal one from the get-go.”
Glenn fell behind 7-2 in the first set before senior outside hitter Sugey Mancilla served three straight points, the last two coming on aces, to bring the Eagles to with a point. But they were unable to tie Rancho Alamitos, nor get closer than four points the rest of the way. However, the second set would be much closer as there were seven ties and four lead changes, the last coming at 16-15 after sophomore middle blocker Arydai Castro had her third kill. She would later have consecutive aces while junior outside hitter Valeria Mejia had five of the team’s 13 kills during the second rotation.
Glenn held a lead of no more than three points early in the third set until Sophia Tran served consecutive aces to give the Vaqueros a 9-7 lead it would not relinquish. Then in the fourth set, the Eagles were hampered by their serve receive as Angela Alvarez served five aces to help guide Rancho Alamitos to a 9-1 lead. Glenn chipped into the lead and trailed 14-10 thanks to three straight aces from Mejia, then was down 17-15 when Mancilla had back to back aces. But the hosts had enough to hold on for the win.
“We have a habit of not wanting to move our feet, or tend to get out of our positioning,” said Reyes. “We tend to get out of our stances too early and I think it doesn’t allow us to be able to be consistent with our platform, or where we want them to be, at least from a passing standpoint.”
Mejia led everyone with 26 kills and had seven aces while Castro, senior opposite hitter Nathalie Jacobo and junior middle blocker Abigail Salaiza all added four kills. Mancilla added half a dozen aces and Jacobo chipped in with three aces, all coming in the second set.
“Oh, she’s special; she’s a special player,” Reyes said of Mejia. “She’s very hard on herself and I have to wrangle her in a few of times and say, ‘look, you’re still young in a sense and I understand that the team relies heavily on you, but at the same time, you’re going to make mistakes and you have to be able to be that person we can lean on’. She’s answered the call and we’re trying to challenge her as much as we can. She’s always constantly trying to push herself and she’s trying to get better no matter what it is. I know she has moments where she falters a bit, but that’s where she has room to improve.”
Glenn went 4-13 last season and even though it made the playoffs in 2022, the program has not had a winning season since 2009 when the Eagles made their previous postseason appearance and had a 10-9 record. Before that, Glenn had finished above .500 three times since 1998. It went 15-4 that season, 15-5 the next season and 12-7 in 2002. The Eagles begin 605 League action on Friday at Pioneer High and will visit Artesia High on Tuesday.
“I know summer is a bit of a hassle to get kids committed, but I think this group, once they bought in, they’re here,” said Reyes. “They’re consistent with showing up every day and I think it helps having a core group of girls who have been in the program for three or four years, especially the senior class. I think they understand what’s needed to be somewhat successful.”
In other girls volleyball action, Artesia will travel to Oxford Academy on Friday in the 605 League opener before its match with Glenn while Cerritos High was 2-4 entering the Chatsworth Tournament, which it competed in last Friday and Saturday. The Dons visited Whitney High on Sept. 12 for the 605 League opener and after participating in the Bellflower/Valley Christian Tournament Friday and Saturday, they will host Oxford Academy on Tuesday.
Gahr High split its six games last Friday and Saturday in the Whittier Tournament to see its record go to 11-9 as the Gladiators prepare to do battle on Friday and Saturday in the Bellflower/Valley Christian Tournament. After that, the Gladiators will visit La Mirada High on Tuesday in the Gateway League opener, then will travel to Downey High on Thursday.
La Mirada also split its six matches in the Whittier Tournament to move to 8-7 as it visited Norwalk High on Sept. 12 in the Gateway League opener. The Matadores will entertain Gahr on Tuesday for its only other action for the upcoming week.
Norwalk was a third area team in the Whittier Tournament and like its two Gateway League rivals, also split its six matches. At 9-10, the Lancers will visit Downey on Tuesday and Warren High two days later. There were 66 teams that participated in the Whittier Tournament, which utilized eight high schools.
FOOTBALL
Ocean View High (0-3) @ Artesia (3-0)-For the first time this season, Artesia didn’t score in the first quarter. But senior quarterback Charlie Lopez took matters into his own hands, scoring four touchdowns as the Pioneers knocked off Bolsa Grande High 28-16 last Friday. The Pioneers rushed for over 250 yards against the Matadors and avenged last season’s 49-42 loss. For the second straight game, Artesia’s defense recorded three interceptions and figures to have another easy time against Ocean View.
The Seahawks had a season-high in points but fell to Gahr 43-35 last Friday. Before that, Ocean View had scored 13 points in its first two games combined. Gaige Prichard rushed for 272 yards and scored three times against a porous Gahr defense. But the rest of the Seahawks combined for 87 other yards. Don’t expect much passing as the Seahawks have rushed about four times as much as quarterback Isaac Young has passed. Artesia won last season’s meeting 20-17.
Prediction: Artesia 42, Ocean View 21
GAME OF THE WEEK
Cerritos (3-0) @ Valley Christian High (3-0)-This may be the fourth game of the season for both teams, but it could be a measuring stick going forward as both teams have put on offensive clinics. After two shutouts to begin the season, Cerritos was tested by Portola High last Friday in a 21-14 victory. The Dons had a 14-0 lead before Portola tied the game in the third quarter. Senior running back Josiah Ungos scored twice, and sophomore quarterback Alexander Laurin tossed a 43-yard scoring strike to senior wide receiver Ruben Castro. The Dons held Portola to 125 yards on offense.
V.C. also had a tough battle, edging Baldwin Park High 14-13 in the first home game on the new field surface at V.C. as senior quarterback Austin Abrahams continues to shine in 2024. Abrahams completed 13 of 21 passes for 135 yards but threw three interceptions. He made up for it on the ground, where he scored both touchdowns while being held to 20 yards on nine carries. In fact, the Defenders were limited to 299 yards on offense. The difference in the final score was a missed extra point with under a minute left in regulation.
The Defenders have scored 105 points and given up 61 while Cerritos has put up 96 points while yielding 14. V.C. won the last meeting 48-6 in 2015 and was the third straight win over Cerritos since 2013.
Prediction: Cerritos 28, V.C. 24
Garden Grove High (2-1) @ Gahr (1-2)-This game was played on Sept. 12. The offense woke up for the Gladiators last Friday as they knocked off Ocean View 43-35, nearly doubling their point total from the first two games. Gahr had a 14-0 first quarter lead but the Seahawks rallied to tie the game at 28-28 entering the fourth quarter. Senior Markell Slaughter completed 10 passes for 123 yards and threw a pair of touchdowns while rushing 15 times for 152 yards. The Gladiators survived 339 rushing yards by Ocean View.
After being on both ends of shutouts to begin the season, Garden Grove edged Santa Ana High 21-20 last Friday despite 229 offensive yards. The Argonauts scored the lone touchdown of the fourth quarter for the game-winner. Garden Grove has won three straight against the Gladiators, including a thrilling 49-47 affair last season. The previous two meetings were by a combined score of 69-0.
Prediction: Gahr 28, Garden Grove 27
La Mirada (0-3) @ Long Beach Jordan High (1-2)-This game will be played at Compton College as the Matadores had a season-high in points but still lost to Tesoro High 38-28 last Friday. La Mirada trailed 10-0 before junior running back Jordan Lauago scored on an eight-yard run. The Titans would score the next 14 points before senior Madden Carino added a nine-yard rushing touchdown. In the fourth quarter and with Tesoro up 38-21, senior Max Rankin returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for the final score of the game. The Matadores have allowed 129 points this season, 77 coming in the second half.
Jordan got into the win column last Friday as the Panthers rolled over George Washington Prep 52-7. Last season, Jordan defeated La Mirada 28-18. Before that, the last time the two met came in 2006, a 13-12 Matadores victory.
Prediction: Jordan 28, La Mirada 21
La Last week’s predictions: 5-2
Season to date: 14-5
CROSS COUNTRY
It was nearly a clean sweep for the Cerritos girls at last Wednesday’s ABC District Championships as the Dons claimed the first four spots and picked up 19 points. Whitney was a distant second with 52 points while Artesia finished in third place with 55 points. Gahr did not have any runners compete on the girls side.
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The Whitney High boys and Cerritos High girls cross country teams pose after winning their respective ABC Unified School District Championship races.
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The Dons were paced by senior Anna Field (18:39), freshman Kanako Field (20:26), junior Dani Romero (20:29) and sophomore Kalana Nguyen (21:44). Sophomore Nandini Panchal finished in ninth place with a time of 22:56 while senior Zillian Liu was 10th with a time of 24:13.
The top Artesia runner was sophomore Genesis Flores, who came in fifth place with a time of 21:54 while Whitney sophomore Katherine Low (22:19) and freshman Madison Lee (22:34) claimed the next two spots. Artesia freshman Nya Crespin finished in eighth place at 22:47 for the other top 10 runner. There were 17 out of a possible 21 runners, seven for each school, competing in the race, not including Gahr.
Whitney junior Christian Ishiki (16:18) and his teammate, senior Ethan Choi, who finished 40 seconds behind, guided the Wildcats to a first-place finish with 27 points. Cerritos picked up 37 points and Gahr 59 points while Artesia did not have a runner.
Cerritos would claim the next three positions with freshman Vincent Valenzuela (17:04), sophomore Allan Woolley (17:21) and senior Howard Lee (17:26) while Whitney and Gahr alternated the rest of the top 10, led by senior Damian Moreno (17:31).
Gahr junior Leo Garcia came in at 17:39, followed by Whitney junior Avery Chen (17:45), Gahr sophomore David Chavez (17:46) and Whitney junior Brendan Perry (17:58). There were 19 runners in this race.
