September 25, 2024
By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
The last time the Whitney High girls volleyball team won a league title, none of the current players were born. Three of the teams in the 605 League were in the old Suburban League, one was in the Del Rio League and Oxford Academy was in its third year as a school.
Having already knocked off Cerritos High, snapping its streak of 50 straight 605 League matches won, the Wildcats are on the verge of something good. They defeated Artesia High 23-25, 25-20, 25-11, 25-21 this past Tuesday to improve to 16-7 overall, 4-0 in league. Last season, Whitney was 13-17, 5-5 and finished in fourth place. The ‘Cats are also in good position to reach the CIF-Southern Section playoffs for the first time since 2019.
“It meant a huge deal,” said Whitney head coach Mark Kato of beating Cerritos. “It was the proverbial monkey off our back. It was one of our goals at the beginning of the year, and honestly at first, it was surreal. We won the first set; we were happy. We were trying to stay hungry, and we finished with a win.”
Whitney last won a league title in 2000 with a 17-5 record, 10-0 in the Delphic League and the 2024 Wildcats need two wins in their last six regular season matches to equal the victory output from 1999, the most the program has had in at least 27 seasons.
Artesia had a four-point lead three times early in the first set before Whitney rallied to take an 18-14 lead following consecutive aces from senior outside hitter Rachel Moyher. After an Artesia timeout, the Pioneers responded with three points, and moments later took the lead for good on a kill from junior middle blocker Kristina Palafox.
The Pioneers (4-7, 1-3) once again had a four-point lead three times through the first rotation of the second set, then the Wildcats scored six of the next seven points to take the lead, which it would not relinquish until midway through the fourth set.
“I thought we came out a little bit timid and [Artesia] was very aggressive,” said Kato. “We couldn’t match up with them, but I’m very super proud of them.”
Both teams would get kills from six players in the opening set, but after that, it was clear that Whitney was going to be paced by Moyher and sophomore outside hitter Emma Prowse, seven kills each, while Artesia junior outside hitter Djulianne Goze was getting the bulk of the points, 13 kills through the first two sets.
It was all Whitney in the third set, scoring the first four points and never looking back. In the fourth set, the Wildcats had leads of 10-5 and 14-11 before an ace from junior Camilla Orozco tied the set at 15-15. There would be three more ties and two lead changes, the last coming on Moyher’s ace to make it 19-18.
“I think we were serving tough,” said Kato. “I think our servers did a great job of serving their spots and keeping the pressure on.”
Goze led everyone with 24 kills while eight other players combined for 16 kills. Prowse led Whitney with 17 kills and five aces and Moyher added 10 kills and five aces while sophomore opposite hitter Sophia Fu also served five aces.
“Our outsides were instrumental in getting kills and keeping the balls to hit the court,” said Kato. “Emma has impressed all of in her volleyball IQ and her ability.”
Whitney hosts Oxford Academy on Friday to end the first half of league play, then visits Cerritos on Tuesday while the Pioneers will travel to Pioneer High on Friday before hosting Oxford Academy on Tuesday,
In other girls volleyball action, Cerritos entered this past Tuesday’s match with Pioneer at 12-10, 2-1 as the Dons will host John Glenn High on Friday and Whitney on Tuesday. Gahr High has yet to win a Gateway League match after falling to Warren High 30-28, 10-25, 19-25, 19-25 this past Tuesday. The Gladiators (15-15, 0-3) went to Norwalk High on Sept. 26 and will host La Mirada High on Thursday.
After a fast start to the season, Glenn has gone the other way, losing three straight matches, the last one to Oxford Academy 25-13, 25-21, 25-16 this past Tuesday to drop to 10-6, 1-3. The Eagles will host Pioneer on Tuesday and Western High on Thursday while La Mirada was swept by Downey High 25-21, 25-16, 25-16 this past Tuesday, falling to 9-9, 1-2. The Matadores went to Warren on Sept. 26 and will welcome Norwalk on Tuesday while Norwalk (10-12, 1-2) was swept by Warren 25-20, 25-19, 25-12 last Thursday.
Valley Christian High (16-4, 2-1 in the Olympic League) defeated Heritage Christian High 25-19, 25-18, 21-25, 25-23 this past Tuesday and began the second round of league action on Sept. 26 against Maranatha High. The Defenders will then host Whittier Christian High on Tuesday before going to league-leading Village Christian High on Thursday.
FOOTBALL
GAME OF THE WEEK
Artesia (5-0) @ Estancia High (3-1)-One of the area’s two hottest teams continues to have one of its finest seasons in recent memory as Artesia blasted Mountain View High 41-7 last Friday to remain undefeated. Senior quarterback Charlie Lopez is on pace to take home some serious 605 League accolades as he completed four passes for 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Julius Padilla caught three passes for 107 yards while nine different ball carriers combined for 298 yards.
The Pioneers have scored 99 more points than given up but will face their biggest test of the season as Estancia has allowed 20 points. The Eagles blanked Santiago High 38-0 last Friday, the second shutout of the season. In its previous three games, Estancia had scored a total of 40 points. Quarterback Heriberto Sanchez Martinez was six of seven for 63 yards and a touchdown while the Artesia defense will have its hands full with Jeff Brown, who rushed for 282 yards on 28 carries and scored three touchdowns. For the season, he has 722 yards while the rest of the team has combined for 227 yards.
Prediction: Artesia 28, Estancia 21
Westminster High (2-2) @ Cerritos (3-2)-The fast start by Cerritos seems like a long time ago as the Dons have dropped two straight games, including last Friday’s 41-21 encounter at West Torrance High. They have been outscored 69-35 in the two losses after a 96-14 advantage in the first three games. Junior quarterback Justin Sagun was 18 of 31 for 162 yards and a touchdown but threw three interceptions. The rushing game struggled, gaining 106 yards on 29 carries.
After two straight shutouts, the Lions fell to Anaheim High 28-21 on Sept. 13. Still, Westminster has scored twice as many points as it has allowed. Last season, the Lions whitewashed the Dons 27-0.
Prediction: Cerritos 31, Westminster 21
University High (2-2) @ Glenn (1-3)-After winning its first game of the season with 18 players suited up, Glenn has gone the opposite direction in a fast way. The latest casualty was a 32-12 loss to La Quinta High last Friday in which the Eagles scored in the first and fourth quarters, bringing their season total to five.
Irvine-based University began the season with two straight losses, but has turned things around as of late, including a 24-21 overtime win over Garden Grove High last Friday. The Trojans trailed 13-0 at the half but rallied to take a 21-13 lead with less than four minutes left in regulation. The tying touchdown and two-point conversion was scored with under a minute remaining before overtime. Damari Carter rushed for 149 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Prediction: University 31, Glenn 10
Norwalk (3-1) @ Locke High (0-5)-Norwalk got back in the win column in a big way during a 65-34 decision against Linfield Christian High last Friday. The Lancers scored on every possession except the last one of the game and got four touchdowns from senior running back Ezra Meuller and three more from junior running back Diego Cerritos. Norwalk has reached at least 48 points in its three wins and is expected to put up big numbers again against the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Saints.
Locke dropped a 26-18 contest to Bernstein last Friday and has been outscored 184-38 with three shutouts. Last season, Norwalk had its way against the Saints, 49-6/
Prediction: Norwalk 52, Locke 7
Last week’s predictions: 5-2
Season to date: 21-9
