GIRLS VOLLEYBALL-Serving From Pak, Sales Lifts Whitney Over Norwalk In Four Sets

Norwalk High senior libero Nayeli Sanchez goes for a dig late in the second set against Whitney High last Thursday. Whitney would eventually get a kill from freshman outside hitter Pressley Pak on the return and the Wildcats would defeat the Lancers 25-15, 25-11, 22-25, 25-12. PHOTO BY ALEX AGUIRRE.

September 5, 2025

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

A tight first set between Norwalk High and host Whitney High in the opening minutes last Thursday turned into a runaway, thanks to some nifty serving and poor serve receiving. And as the match went on, the lack of players Norwalk had on that day was too much to overcome as the defending 605 League champions continued their strong serving, then received some stellar play from a pair of freshmen and a veteran junior outside hitter who is making a name for herself as the new leader of the Wildcats.

Behind 13 kills from Emma Prowse, 10 from freshman outside hitter Pressley Pak and six more from freshman opposite hitter Megan Shaw, Whitney knocked off Norwalk 25-15, 25-11, 22-25, 25-12. In addition, Pak had 15 aces and junior setter Janelle Sales added nine aces.

“We really work on our serving and take pride in our serving,” said Whitney head coach Mark Kato. “We are not the tallest [team]; we [do not have] the most powerful front line. So, we have to rely on being accurate with our serves and to exploit weaknesses on the other team.”

There were four ties and three lead changes within the first rotation and neither team had a lead greater than three points. But with Sales serving to begin the second rotation, she had an ace followed by two straight blocks from Shaw as the Wildcats took a 13-11 lead. A serving error, plus consecutive aces from Norwalk sophomore Antoinette Espina put the Lancers up by a point before the wheels came off.

The second serving error of the set gave Pak the serve and she reeled off 10 straight points, including seven aces. That burst of momentum carried over into the second set when a block from Sales was immediately followed by five straight points served by her, including two more aces and two kills from Pak. Whitney would not trail in the set as the Lancers couldn’t get closer than three points.

Pak would string together five straight points on her serve in the first rotation, adding three more aces and her sixth kill. Then in the second rotation, Pak’s next kill gave the serve to Sales where she had another five consecutive points with three aces and a pair of kills from Pak. It was only fitting that the set would end on the 13th ace from Pak after a kill from senior middle blocker Olachi Anyama.

“To be honest, it was definitely an off day for us,” said Norwalk head coach Paola Nava. “Coming off a loss on Tuesday at Santa Fe…we went back and forth and think we did really well fighting back for that fifth set. And I think coming into today, just the mental part of our game wasn’t on point. I think we kind of let it affect us a little bit; I feel like we have been struggling a little bit on the mental part of the game and that’s something we’re working on.”

“She’s playing more mature than her age,” said Kato of Pak. “She’s played in club, so she’s got that experience, and she has a good club serve.”

Whitney scored the first two points of the third set, only to see the Lancers get the next four points, their longest scoring spree of the match, and hold onto that lead. In the second rotation, Norwalk junior middle blocker Mirei Sanchez had an ace, then a kill from junior outside hitter Nataly Felix to open a 16-12 advantage. Both teams would trade points on the next 12 serves before Shaw had a kill, followed by two aces from Anyama to make it 23-22. But the ninth kill from Sanchez assured the Lancers of at least a four-set match.

“I think we started off pretty strong,” said Nava. “But it’s the momentum killer where we’re making minor errors after a long rally; setting into the net or missing our serves. It’s something that we’re working on.”

Service errors finally caught up to the ‘Cats in the third set, and between the third and fourth sets, the message from Kato to his players was to fire up, to want it, to have hunger and to be more accurate with their serves. The message was received quite well as Norwalk’s lone lead was 1-0. Moments later, Pak’s 14th ace made it 6-2 and shortly after that, Shaw’s seventh and final kill opened the lead to 9-3. The Lancers were unable to score more than three straight points at any time in the set.

The score was 13-9 after the first rotation and in typical fashion, based on how the match was going, Prowse had three kills and Shaw a pair of aces for the final five points.

“With Rachel [Moyher] gone; she graduated, it’s like Emma took Rachel’s spot and now, Pressley is taking Emma’s spot,” said Kato. “She does have high potential.”

The Lancers, as they have been accustomed to the previous two seasons, were led by Sanchez (12 kills), Felix (six kills) and senior outside hitter Jeina Lapena (five kills).

“It’s hard for one player to kind of take control of the game on her own,” said Nava of Sanchez. “I think she did a really good job of controlling what she could do for the struggles that we were having. But it’s hard for her as one of our top hitters to produce more if the team is not supporting. Again, it just comes into the team effort that we had today.”

Reinforcements, though, are on the way to Norwalk as it aims for the tough Gateway League next week. Senior outside hitter Giselle Salazar, a returner who has been sidelined, is slated to return soon and senior outside hitter Valeria Mejia a transfer from John Glenn High, becomes eligible on Saturday.

“I would definitely say it’s going to be a big switch in our team for sure,” said Nava. “They are our top three hitters, so it’s going to put a big change in our rotation into our offense and we’re going to be able to move the ball around a little bit more.”

Norwalk (7-6) visited La Mirada High on Sept. 11 and will host Downey High and Warren High on Tuesday and Thursday respectively while Whitney, which improved to 6-5 begins 605 League play on Friday when it goes to Oxford Academy, then participates in the Pacifica Tournament on Saturday. The Wildcats stay on the road to face Cerritos High on Tuesday and Pioneer High on Friday.

“We always say this in our huddle; we’re almost there, and I feel like we’re good, but we can improve on the little things,” said Kato.