SUBURBAN LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL Norwalk finally breaks through with first win of season, drops John Glenn into cellar

By Loren Kopff

It has been a very long and trying season for both the John Glenn and Norwalk girls volleyball teams. As the first round of Suburban League action came to an end last Friday, one of those teams would pick up their first league victory while the other would be dropped to last place.
In front of a raucous crowd at Norwalk, the hosts played their best match of the season and swept the Lady Eagles 25-14, 25-17, 25-23 to post their first league and overall win of the season. Norwalk also swept its city rivals for the first time since Nov. 1, 2005.
“It really feels good [to win] but the biggest thing was our offensive fire finally came around,” said Norwalk first-year head coach Quoc Nguyen. “Before, we would have long rallies and we wouldn’t be able to put the ball down because we had no offense. The girls seemed like they didn’t want it as much. Today they wanted it.”
For both teams to enter the match with a combined record of 1-17 was completely unheard of considering the Lady Eagles have been to the playoffs in three of the past four seasons and have at least five victories each season for well over 15 seasons. As for the Lancers, they’re trying to build off of a 3-13 campaign in 2009, their worst since 2002.
Both teams were somewhat on the sloppy side in the first set as they combined for seven serving errors. Norwalk (1-8, 1-6) began to slowly pull away when senior outside hitter Joanna Macias spiked a kill, then served three straight points to give her team a 9-5 lead. Following consecutive serves into the net by both teams, sophomore middle blocker Michelle Macias served a pair of aces along with a kill from junior middle blocker Amy Siliezar as Norwalk extended its lead to 13-6. The younger Macias would have five kills in the set while senior outside hitter Kate Olegario added four kills.
“Most of the time with high school teams, when you put a little bit of pressure on them, they tend to fold,” Nguyen said. “Only the really top teams are the ones who can pass out of it.”
Norwalk got out to a fast start in the second set, holding leads of 4-1, 7-3 and 10-6, the latter coming when Olegario served consecutive aces. Glenn got as close as 12-10 but down the stretch, both teams traded side outs. Through the first two sets, the visitors from the east side of the city never scored more than three straight points at any time.
That would change in the third set when the Lady Eagles roared out to an 8-1 behind the serving of senior defensive specialist Gaby Lucero. But, as quick as the Lady Eagles scored six straight points, the Lancers countered that with six of their own. Junior libero Andrea Zepeda benefited from a bad set, then served three aces.
Norwalk was still unable to crack Glenn’s desperate attempts for a win and still had not led in the set. Glenn, on the other hand, had leads of 19-15 and 20-17 when Michelle Macias put down back to back kills, followed by an ace from senior outside hitter Priscilla Mendoza. Another kill from Michelle Macias gave Norwalk its first lead of the set at 21-20.
But the Lady Eagles refused to give up and when senior middle blocker Sharae Moten had her team-high 10th kill, the score was tied at 23-23. However, a net violation and the ninth kill from Siliezar ended the match and sent the home team into jubilation.
“No matter what sport it is, no matter what our record is, we always play John Glenn like it’s a championship finals game,” Nguyen said. “Somebody has to come out with a win and we got the better of the day. Hopefully we can build off of this and use this as a way for us to know how to win.”
Norwalk hadn’t had much to cheer for thus far, winning just three sets all season long entering the Glenn match. It did begin to turn the corner on Oct. 8 when the team took the first set from Bellflower before losing in four, though the Lancers scored 22 and 21 points respectively in the final two sets. All of this is coming from a team that returns just two key offensive threats from last season.
“We focused so much on passing at the beginning of the season because we’re a smaller team,” Nguyen said. “I put hitting on the back burner but now that the passing is coming along I’m focused on hitting.”
After Moten’s 10 kills, the rest of the Lady Eagles recorded 22 kills with senior middle blocker Arlene Gomez chipping in with seven kills. Norwalk would be much more balanced with Olegario leading the way with 11 kills and Joanna Macias pitching in with nine kills. Of the 44 kills from Norwalk, 39 came from the big four of the Macias sisters, Olegario and Siliezar.
“I understand that sophomores go backwards before they go forward because they’re so young and they can’t figure it out,” Nguyen said. “I think [Michelle] is starting to figure it out now. I think she’s starting to pick her spots perfectly and she’s putting the ball down.”
Glenn will host Artesia today and Bellflower on Wednesday while the Lancers are home to defending league champion Cerritos today and to La Mirada on Wednesday. The city rematch will be on Nov. 5, the last day of the regular season. While a trip to the playoffs may not be viable for both teams, the intensity will still be there.
“We want to be competitive but Mayfair and Cerritos are very strong,” Nguyen said. “I want to be competitive with La Mirada and Artesia and I’m actually looking forward to the [Artesia match]. I think we can adjust to [their style]. I’m looking to build a program; I’m not looking for this season.”