GATEWAY LEAGUE GIRLS VOLLEYBALL – Norwalk sweeps La Mirada to begin second round of league play

October 1, 2025

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

The Norwalk High girls volleyball team hasn’t had much of a history winning league titles, claiming the Suburban League title in 2013 and finishing in a tie with Mayfair High for the top spot in the Mid-Cities League just two seasons ago. But following a sweep over La Mirada High this past Tuesday, the Lancers moved one step closer to that goal.

While the 25-18, 25-19, 26-24 win wasn’t as smooth as head coach Paola Nava would have liked, it was good enough to move to 13-7 overall, 4-1 in the Gateway League. Norwalk’s league title two seasons ago was good enough to get to a promotion to the Gateway League last season where it split the eight league matches.

“I think coming off the first round, the girls are definitely on a high,” said Nava, who played for Norwalk and went to the playoffs all four years with the Lancers from 2013-2016. “In the first round versus La Mirada, we did have a little bit of a rough start, and I think in this match, we did have a little bit of a rough ending.:

The Lancers scored the first five points of the match, three coming on aces from senior outside hitter Valeria Mejia, a transfer from John Glenn High. Norwalk led 12-8 after the first rotation but junior middle blocker Kamil Scott had three kills and junior middle blocker Addison Tufaga added an ace to tie the score. An error gave Norwalk the serve where Mejia added two more aces and junior middle blocker Mirei Sanchez had a kill as the hosts began to pull away.

The Matadores (1-18, 0-5) would get to within two points before Sanchez had three straight kills, plus an ace from senior opposite hitter Giselle Salazar and another kill from Sanchez to make it 22-15.

Norwalk began the second set with six straight points, highlighted by two straight kills from senior middle blocker Jeina Lapena and two straight aces from sophomore setter Mahalia Urriza. The lead would expand to 18-6 on back to back aces from Salazar and the set ended with the Lancers scoring six straight points. However, it was the third set that annoyed Nava a bit.

Another 5-0 start at the beginning turned into a 15-11 lead after the first rotation before Tufaga served four straight points, the last three being aces, to forge the tie. The Matadores then took their first lead of the match on Scott’s fifth kill and held the lead until a Urruza’s third kill made it 22-22. Following a La Mirada timeout, a crosscourt kill from Mejia put Norwalk back in front.

That was short-lived as junior outside hitter Kelianna Gonzalez put down her fourth kill, then served her second ace before Nava called her last timeout. Her players responded as kills from Mejia, sophomore defensive specialist Ellejhaye Estores and Sanchez ended the match.

“I’m just teaching our players that if we’re making [substitutions], it should be kind of smooth transitions…whether it happens every game or not; every match or not or one set or zero sets,” said Nava. “We want to make sure the chemistry on the court is the same, and nothing changes. It’s games like this where even if we have a little bit of lineage as far as making those subs, I think we want to make that happen.

“It’s good to see them struggle a bit because it teaches them how to come back from that,” she continued. “There’s going to be moments where we’re going to be up 20-0 and a team can come back. They need to teach themselves how to push back.”

Scott led the Matadores with six kills while junior outside hitter Ahri Grayson and Gonzalez, two of the four returning players from last season, added five and four kills, respectively. Meanwhile, Sanchez was her usual self, pounding down 15 kills while Mejia added five kills and nine aces, and Lapena and freshman middle blocker Lailanee Cano each pitched in with four kills.

“Valeria is definitely a player; she was a diamond in the rough for us, somebody who came in shock to all of us,” said Nava. “We’re very grateful for her and I couldn’t speak on Glenn’s program; we haven’t played them in a while. But I know from what she has told us, she kind of felt like she was doing [all the work]. She still feels like she has to do it all, but I’m teaching her to understand that she has other teammates that can support her and knowing that she is being supported here at Norwalk.”

La Mirada has four home matches to wrap up the season, beginning with Mayfair (Oct. 2), Samueli Academy on Tuesday and Downey High on Thursday. Norwalk went to Downey on Oct. 2 with the league title on the line and will travel to Warren High on Tuesday.

“Our girls are excited after finishing the first round of league,” said Nava. “We kind of stepped back a little bit and kind of looked at the bigger picture. Our girls understand that it’s really in their fate and they’re really in control of their own fate. Us coaches believe in them.”