The562’s coverage of high school volleyball in 2026 is brought to you by the MLP’s Bay Area Breakers.
The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
It’s a tough but fortunate reality of the playoffs that you put everything into a CIF-SS championship run, only to start all over again in the CIF State playoffs. It’s even tougher when you come up empty-handed the first time around.
That was the situation the Lakewood girls’ volleyball team faced on Tuesday, but the Lancers were able to shake off some early struggles en route to a dominant finish to open the CIF State Division IV playoffs. Four days after their CIF-SS championship loss, the No. 2 Lancers got right back to their sweeping ways, defeating No. 15 Northview in straight sets, 26-24, 25-22, 25-16.
“It was bittersweet returning to practice on Monday,” said Lakewood coach Adam Wadley. “We didn’t achieve our goal of winning a CIF championship, but everything happens for a reason, and I feel like we’re in a bracket where we can make a run. It was really tough adjusting and being ready to play after Friday’s loss, but I’m very happy with how we played, and I know we can keep it going.”
Lakewood was visibly slow to start the match and coughed up 13 errors in the first set alone while eventually trailing 20-17. The Lancers later fought off a set point at 24-23 as part of a four-point run to end the set. Lakewood then cruised to wins in the second and third sets, earning its fifth sweep since the start of the postseason.
“We were a little rusty,” Wadley said. “We had a lot of errors in that first set, and it was just about making them earn their points and not giving them away. I think we calmed down a little bit from there and progressively got better as the match went on. I’m happy we were able to finish out on a high note.”
Lakewood finished with four different players recording five or more kills, led by a 23-assist performance from setter Layla Bailey-Zavala. Senior Jenna Smith led the team with 10 kills on .428 hitting, while Mialani Mapu added seven kills and two aces. Middle Aaryn Hunter had a team-high four aces to go along with eight blocks and six kills, while senior middle Zoe Tafao contributed six kills and a pair of blocks.
“Losing the championship was tough, and it really took a mental toll on us, but I think tonight we were playing to make sure we don’t feel that again,” Tafao said. “We don’t want to make the same mistakes over again, so we’re just focusing on continuing to get better to come back and win games like this.”
Northview did give Lakewood some trouble in the second set, despite the Lancers taking a 17-10 lead midway through the frame. The visitors responded with an 8-1 run to tie the set, highlighted by a pair of kills from junior outside hitter Salai Osi, who finished with a game-high 12 kills. Lakewood then closed the set on a 7-4 run, anchored by three blocks, to give the Lancers a two-set lead.
Lakewood then had its most dominant set in the third. After surrendering the first point, the Lancers scored 10 straight to blow the set open, highlighted by a service run that included a pair of aces from senior Leylah Zepeda. Northview never came within nine points for the rest of the set.
Following the sweep, second-seeded Lakewood will host the winner of the matchup between No. 7 Capistrano Valley Christian and No. 10 Kennedy on Thursday.
“Ever since [we clinched a state playoff berth] against Mayfair, we knew that we had more volleyball,” Wadley said. “But now that we’re in the endgame, and it’s win or go home, I think we’re going to fight even more during practices and during games.”
