NEWS AND NOTES FROM PRESS ROW-Norwalk girls volleyball overmatched by trio of South Pasadena six-footers

October 29, 2024

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

No one knew what would come out of Norwalk High’s girls volleyball match against South Pasadena High last Saturday afternoon in a CIF-Southern Section Division 6 second round tilt. Both teams had losing marks in the regular season and were entering the playoffs as third place representatives from their respective leagues.

But the Tigers were the top-seeded team in the division and featured three players of at least six feet or taller. While Norwalk has its own 6’1” threat in sophomore outside hitter/middle blocker Mirei Sanchez, it was South Pasadena that was too much for the Lancers, knocking them out of the playoffs 25-19, 26-28. 25-13, 25-22. Norwalk finishes the season at 14-15.

“I think it was definitely a surprise to our team,” said Norwalk head coach Paola Nava. “We haven’t played a team with that type of speed in their game or on their offense. So, it did take us by surprise. I did let our girls know to read [South Pasadena] a little bit longer and trust their feet; trust their form, and we really analyzed knowing that when their sets were off, they were going to tip.”

South Pasadena never trailed in the first set and the last tie came at 14-14 when senior opposite hitter Diana Avina served her second straight set. But a kill from Senya Dorny, who stands at six feet, had a kill, followed by three straight aces from Bella Ventura. At the beginning of the third rotation, a serving error gave Norwalk new life at 20-18, which was then turned away with a net violation and consecutive aces from Ava Conti.

The Lancers were building momentum in the second set, racing to leads of 11-3, 17-8 and 19-10 after an ace from senior setter Zaidee Zepeda started the second rotation. But the Tigers clawed their way back and staved off five straight set points to tie things up on the third ace from Amaya Mahler. But two kills from senior opposite hitter/middle blocker Brenda Quezada and one from senior middle blocker/outside hitter Samantha Munoz gave Norwalk the win.

Part of the early surge in the set was the play of Sanchez, who had five kills early as the hosts went up 8-2. That was coming off a four-kill performance in the opening set.

“I think that first set loss kind of put some fire under these girls,” said Nava. “I let them know we had a handful of serve receive errors, and we lost by six. I think in the second set, they had a better control of that. They definitely stayed more aggressive on the end line, so I think that helped us out a lot.”

But just like that, the momentum quickly went away as South Pasadena went wire to wire in the third set as Conti, Dorny and Ventura all had three kills, and the Lancers had four serving errors.

Norwalk was trying to force a fifth set by leading 4-0 and 13-7. But just like the second set, South Pasadena chipped away, and Ventura’s eighth kill gave her team the lead for good at 19-18. Half of the first two points of the set for Norwalk were aces from Avina and Quezada served four straight aces to give the Lancers the six-point lead.

Dorny led the Tigers with 13 kills, followed by 11 from Conti and nine from Ventura. In addition, Conti, Ventura and Evan Taylor all served five aces and as a team, the Tigers had 24 aces. Sanchez led everyone with 14 kills while Quezada added 10 kills and Munoz another nine while Avina and Quezada each had half a dozen aces while three other players combined for four aces.

Nearly half the team are seniors, and most of the underclassmen got significant playing time this season. With that said, next season could be different as the Lancers won’t have the offensive threats in Munoz, Quezada, Zepeda or senior middle blocker Aleyah Davis.

“Our libero [junior Nayeli Sanchez] and Mirei, our main outside…I’m excited for next season,” said Nava. “We have a lot of young talent in our program, and I’m excited to use them and I’m excited to see what they can do in the offseason. They’ve preached to me that they want to be where this team was, and a lot of these freshmen look up to these seniors. I think seeing them and pulling them up [from the lower levels] for the playoffs to see what the seniors could do really urged them to work for it in the offseason. We’ll start working tomorrow.”

In other girls volleyball playoff action, a pair of 605 League teams lost in the first round last Thursday as Faith Baptist High outlasted Cerritos High 25-18, 16-25, 15-25, 25-18, 15-11 and La Salle High swept Whitney High 26-24, 25-16, 25-22 in Division 5. The Dons wrap up the season at 18-12 while the Wildcats finish at 22-8.

The dream season for John Glenn High (13-12) came to an end as Nogales High swept the Eagles 25-21, 25-16, 25-17 last Saturday in a Division 9 second round match.

Valley Christian High was sitting good in the first half of its opening round match with Thousand Oaks but couldn’t finish the deal as the Lancers defeated the Defenders 14-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-16, 17-15 in Division 2. V.C. ends the season at 21-6.

GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL

In Division 5 action, Artesia High fell to Northview High 18-12 this past Tuesday, ending its inaugural season at 12-6 while Gahr High dropped a 25-18 decision to Fullerton High last Saturday afternoon in Division 6 action to end the season at 14-6.

FOOTBALL

605 LEAGUE (Games played on Oct. 31)

GAME OF THE WEEK

Artesia (8-1, 2-0) @ Cerritos (7-2, 2-0)-The much anticipated battle for the 605 League title is finally here and even though both teams have clinched a playoff spot, winning a league title could go a long way as to how they’ll be seeded and what divisions they will be in. Artesia is coming off a 35-27 win over Pioneer High last Thursday in which it led 28-8 entering the fourth quarter. As he has done all season, senior quarterback Charlie Lopez was solid, completing three passes for 39 yards and rushing eight times for 128 yards with three touchdowns. Senior running back Julius Padilla carried the ball 15 times and gained 132 yards while junior Elijah Johnson had a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown and junior running back Josue Flores also tacked on a touchdown. For the season, Lopez has 939 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns and another 752 yards through the air with seven touchdowns. As a team, the Pioneers have rushed for over 2,100 yards.

“Those are two tremendous players, and we definitely have to make sure we know where they’re at, at all times,” said Cerritos head coach Demel Franklin of Lopez and Padilla. “We’re looking forward to it; we love big games. We love the pressure on us playing under the lights, so, we’re not afraid. I wish we could play them right now.”

The Pioneers have reached 35 points in their last three games and five times overall, but will face their best, or second best opponent, depending on who you ask, in Cerritos.

The Dons are coming off a 35-0 win over Glenn last Thursday and have won four straight games by a combined score of 168-45. In fact, the longtime ABC Unified School District rivals are nearly even offensively and defensively. Artesia has scored 305 points and given up 138 while the Dons have put 299 points on the board while yielding 128.

After winning the first three games by a combined score of 96-14 with two shutouts, Cerritos dropped the next two by giving up 69 points. But the Dons seemed to be peaking at the right time.

“I wouldn’t say it was bumpy,” said Franklin. “We played better teams. That’s the one thing going into next week; I know who we played on our schedule, and I know what our record means. Our strength of schedule…anybody can look at it, and I’m looking forward to next Thursday.”

Cerritos is led by junior quarterback Justin Sagun (1,099 yards, 13 touchdowns), senior running backs Dikshanta Adhikari (649 yards, 10 touchdowns) and Josiah Ungos (361 yards, five touchdowns) and senior wide receiver Ruben Castro (54 receptions, 643 yards, eight touchdowns).

Since 1998, Artesia has a 15-11 series advantage over the Dons, which has been one of streaks. Cerritos won five of the first six meetings since 1998, then the Pioneers won five straight before the Dons took the next two. Artesia would come out winners nine straight times after that, including an 87-32 rout in 2017. However, Cerritos has taken the last four meetings, including last season’s 27-7 game.

Prediction: Cerritos 35, Artesia 31

Glenn (1-7, 0-2) @ Pioneer High (4-5, 0-2)-It has been a long season for Glenn, which has been plagued with lack of personnel since the first game. The young Eagles haven’t had 25 players in uniform in any game, and it shows, having scored 12 points three times, eight points once and six points in another game. Glenn has been shut out three times while the defense has allowed 250 points. The lone victory was a 12-8 conquest over Bassett High on Aug. 22. Senior quarterback Raymond Acosta has thrown for six of the eight touchdowns Glenn has and rushed for another.

At one point, the Titans were sitting at 4-2 following back to back 50-plus point performances over Bassett and Savanna High. Those two games have allowed Pioneer to get over 300 points as the program is seeking its first five-win season since 2019 and fifth since 2004,

If there is one saving grace, it’s that the Eagles have won seven of the 12 meetings in the series, which began in 2009. Last season, Glenn beat Pioneer 28-17 for its fourth win in five games since the teams became 605 League members.

Prediction: Pioneer 35, Glenn 14

GATEWAY LEAGUE

Warren High (2-7, 2-2) @ La Mirada High (3-6, 2-2)-The statement for this game is as simple as can be-winner claims third place and an automatic berth in the playoffs while the loser gets fourth place and sees its season end. La Mirada defeated Bellflower High 20-6 last Friday for its second win in the last three weeks. If there is any extra motivation for the hosts, it’s that the Matadores have not played an 11^th game since 2021.

With the score tied 6-6 late in the third quarter against the Buccaneers, junior quarterback Santino Garcia tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass to junior all everything Jordan Lauago for the game winner. Garcia has passed for 1,351 yards and eight touchdowns, but 10 interceptions. Lauago is the leader of 10 recipients Garcia has thrown to, catching 93 passes for 457 yards while leading the rushing department with 585 yards and a dozen touchdowns. He has also scored a touchdown in seven games.

After finishing 11-3 last season, including a 24-21 loss to St. Bonaventure High in the Division 3 championship game, Warren has struggled this season. The Bears, who will have their first losing season since 2016, lost to city rival Downey High 27-7 last Friday as the Vikings scored the final 13 points over the last three quarters. Warren lost the first five games of the season before shutout wins over Dominguez High and Bellflower over the past four weeks.

The Matadores have scored nearly 50 more points than Warren but allowed over 100 points more and La Mirada has lost both meetings against Warren, including last season’s 40-6 contest.

Prediction: La Mirada 28, Warren 21

MID-CITIES LEAGUE

Gahr (5-4, 3-1) @ Paramount High (8-1, 4-0)-If Gahr wants any piece of the Mid-Cities League title, it will need to upset a very hot Paramount team that eased past Norwalk last Friday. The Gladiators are coming off a 42-6 pasting of Firebaugh High last Friday, the fourth straight game the team has put up over 30 points.

Junior quarterback Roman Acosta threw four touchdown passes, two going to junior wide receiver Alexander Gutierrez. The Gladiators outgained the improved Falcons 354-129 and have now won all three meetings by a combined score of 132-14.

Paramount comes in as one of the hottest teams around, riding a five-game winning streak and allowing 31 points in that time. For the season, Paramount’s stingy defense has given up 109 points with 36 coming in a shutout loss to Carson High.

The heart and soul of the Pirates is running back Tyler Goodman, who gained 161 yards on 22 carries and scored twice against Norwalk. For the season, he has rushed for 1,096 yards and 14 touchdowns and as a team, the Pirates have rushed for 2,244 yards and 32 touchdowns.

Gahr’s 32-6 win over the Pirates last season snapped a 10-game losing streak in the series. Before that, the Gladiators had won five straight over Paramount.

Prediction: Paramount 35, Gahr 14

Norwalk (7-2, 3-1) @ Lynwood High (6-3, 2-2)-Norwalk’s chances of winning the program’s first outright league title since 2013 went away in last Friday’s 28-7 loss to league-leading Paramount. The lone touchdown was a fumble recovery in the endzone from junior running back Diego Cerritos early in the second quarter. Now, the only chance of entering the playoffs as the league’s top representative is to beat an improved Lynwood team, have Gahr defeat Paramount and win the coin flip.

Cerritos and senior running back Ezra Mueller will need to bounce back from lackluster performances against Paramount. Mueller, who leads the Lancers with 1,673 yards and 24 touchdowns, was held to a season-low 128 yards and out of the endzone for the first time. Cerritos, who has 1,058 yards and 15 touchdowns, was limited to 39 yards.

Lynwood took care of Compton Early College 42-9 and is continuing the momentum built from last season’s nine-win campaign and an appearance in the Division 14 championship game. J.M. Leverette and Jordan Sewell combined to complete 10 of 13 passes for 176 yards with a touchdown each and Ernest Delce rushed for 85 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The only other meeting between the two teams since at least 1998 was two years ago, a 51-0 Norwalk win.

“We’re going to have one less day of practice, but you know what, I think we’ll be ready,” said Norwalk head coach Ruben Guerrero. “Taking nothing away from Lynwood, they’re on a little bit of a roll; they’ve been on a roll the last few years. We’re not going to take them lightly. We’re going to watch some film, study, practice and get our personnel straight as well.”

Prediction: Norwalk 49, Lynwood 14

IRONWOOD LEAGUE

Ontario Christian High (5-4, 2-2) @ Valley Christian (7-2, 2-2)-Another winner-takes-third-place game involves one of the longest-running rivalries that pits two schools separated by over 37 miles. V.C. and Ontario Christian were once Olympic League members until 2000. The two still played each other in non-league action, but are now Ironwood League combatants and since 1998, V.C. leads the series 13-11.

The Defenders snapped a two-game skid with a 35-18 win over Heritage Christian High last Friday as senior quarterback Austin Abrahams rushed 13 times for 68 yards and scored three touchdowns, completed 10 of 12 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown to junior wide receiver Lucas Witt and returned an interception 34 yards for another score. He has accounted for 1,896 yards on offense and 32 touchdowns. As a team, the Defenders have 2,734 and 36 touchdowns and has scored at least 35 points four times and over 25 points two other times.

Ontario Christian defeated Village Christian High 27-13 last Friday as the Knights built a 20-0 halftime lead. Daniel Mielke completed nine of 12 passes for 155 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Dillon Sykes of 33 yards and 17 yards while Zander Lewis rushed for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Those three players have been the offensive leaders in their positions as the Knights have scored over 25 points in their victories and a combined 83 points in the four losses.

Ontario Christian defeated the Defenders 51-6 last season and has won two straight and four out of the last five meetings.

Prediction: Valley Christian 35, Ontario Christian 28

Last week’s predictions: 5-1

Season to date: 43-13