BY JOE CORTEZ AND ALEX RAMIREZ
Turlock Journal
Fourth-seeded Pitman High cruised to a 25-9, 25-14, 25-17 victory over No. 13 McClatchy in the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 playoffs.
The Pride (33-5) will play host to No. 5 Folsom on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals.
Kristin Pontes-Christian, who is stepping down at the conclusion of this season, thought her team came out ready to play.
“We had a great warm-up and we came out super strong and made them make all the mistakes,” said Pontes-Christian, who is seeking her fourth career section championship. “As the match went on, McClatchy started picking it up on their side. We did well, but we didn’t seem to has as much fire as the match went on, and we’ll definitely talk about that a little bit.”
Top-seeded St. Mary’s will entertain No. 9 Franklin on Thursday.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 6 St. Francis takes on No. 3 Oak Ridge, while No. 2 Rocklin faces No. 7 Pleasant Grove.
Rocklin, Folsom and Oak Ridge finished 1-2-3 in the ultra-competitive Sierra Foothill League.
HILMAR — In a close Div. 4 battle, Hilmar High’s volleyball team swept Orestimba, 25-21, 25-21, 25-15, to advance to the quarter finals.
“The girls played really well. [They] played together; our offensive is solid, our defense is solid. We played well all the way around,” said head coach Patti Harris.
The Yellowjackets were able to dominate at the net, most notably, Hilmar’s opposite, Alyssa Colston (12), achieving three back-back-back kills during the second period.
“Every time I go in, I just think I have to do this for my team. I really wanted to win this game, so I knew we had to get up. I try to make the best decisions that I can and hopefully I get the kill. Thankfully I did,” said Colston.
The second period took momentum away from Orestimba. The Warriors would attempt to make a last-
No 8 Hilmar will face off against No. 1 Ripon in their quarter final round at Ripon High on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Yellowjackets have lost twice to Ripon during the season, 3-1 on their first match and 3-0 on their second meeting.
TURLOCK — Turlock High’s volleyball season came to a sudden end Tuesday when it fell 25-10, 19-25, 25-22, 15-25 16-14 to Franklin (Stockton) in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 playoffs.
The eighth-seeded Bulldogs finish the season 22-13, while the No. 9 Wildcats improve to 14-14 and advance to take on top-seeded St. Mary’s on Thursday.
The Bulldogs got off to a jittery start before battling back to even the contest at one set apiece.
“I only have three kids (Lillie Miranda, Nikkie Miranda and Lauren Parker) that have ever been in a playoff match before,” said THS coach Amber Lugo. “I think we were super nervous to start and it took a little while to adjust.”
The Bulldogs adjusted to Franklin’s strong middle play, but couldn’t sustain the momentum as the Wildcats took a 2-1 lead in sets.
Turlock breezed in the fourth set tie it 2-2 and looked posed to close out the match with a 14-12 lead in the fifth.
Franklin rallied to tie it 14-14 and Bailey King delivered a key block that made it 15-14. The Wildcats closed out Turlock’s season on a smash from outside hitter Maelyn Ramirez.
