Of the 12 players on this year’s Pitman varsity volleyball roster, there are just three seniors, while five are underclassmen. Pair that with the fact that they are being led by a first-year head coach in Ari Amini, most would assume that there would be anxiety during their Thursday afternoon practice as they awaited the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoff brackets to be released. But the Pride are mature beyond their years.

The practice session was high-paced and intense, but filled with laughs.

Despite their youth, the Pride are beaming with confidence after wrapping up the regular season with a 28-6 overall mark, including a 10-0 record in the Central California Athletic League. Not only did they win every conference match, but they didn’t drop a single set over the course of their final three games against Modesto, Enochs and Gregori.

“At the beginning of the season, we set the goal,” said Amini, who took over for legendary coach Kristen Pontes-Christian following her retirement in the offseason. “The girls were like, ‘We want to go 10-0 in CCAL,’ and I said, ‘Me too. Let's do it!’ I didn't know what to expect, though, honestly. I knew Turlock was going to be solid, I knew Downey had some potential based on the girls they had who also play club. But my team, every time we've been faced with a challenge, we've really done a good job of pulling through.”

As Amini alluded to, the Bulldogs and Knights each gave the Pride a run for their money in the second half of the season, playing Pitman to five sets on Oct. 8 and 10, respectively. 

Throughout the year, junior Mary Hall has shined, racking up a team-high 430 kills to go along with 55 aces. Fellow junior Kayliyah Williams pitched in 233 kills while Mia Ngo added 242. Senior Danica Zamora anchored the offense with 894 assists and 76 aces. Ngo also had a team-high 56 blocks while junior Aila Reich led all with 581 digs.

The Pride were assigned the No. 6 seed in the Division 1 playoff bracket on Friday afternoon, setting them up with a first-round matchup with No. 11 Cosumnes Oaks (20-11, 9-3 Delta League) at 6 p.m. Tuesday. They will be gunning for their first section championship since 2016.

“I think they’ll all be a little nervous, but I think in the end, they're all gamers,” Amini said. “I know my freshmen will probably be a little nervous, but they've been doing a great job stepping up when I need them to. I know the older girls are excited and ready, so I think we're going to have the right confidence and the right mindset as we get into it. So I'm excited and I think they're excited.”

Amini is hoping the community attends in big numbers, as his squad tends to feed off the energy of the crowds.

“Come show out and support the girls,” he directed towards fans. “We've had a really great showing from our parents, and the student section has been really loud and been there for all our games, the band has shown up. I think the more energy we have, the more people there, the girls really play off of that. We're very much a team that plays off the hype and energy. If we have that, I think it could be a really big game changer for us.”

Turlock gets a home game

On the other side of the Division 1 bracket is Turlock (14-8, 6-4), who will come into Tuesday as the No. 8 seed after a third-place finish in the CCAL. They are the lowest ranked team in the bracket to host a home game as they will take on No. 9 Davis Senior (11-13, 1-13 Sierra Foothill League) at Bulldog Arena at 6 p.m.

To defeat Davis Senior and advance in the D-1 bracket, they will need to win their first match in over a week. After a 3-0 win over Gregori on Oct. 15, the Bulldogs dropped their last two league contests to Downey (3-0) and Enochs (3-1).

As it has been for most of the year, the Bulldogs, led by first-year head coach Stacie Macias, will need a big performance from senior captain Lauren Parker, who leads the team in kills (199), aces (24) and blocks (12). She is also second on the team in digs (112) and receptions (145).

Hilmar hopes for long run in D-4 bracket

For Hilmar, it was rival Ripon who prevented them from winning their first Trans-Valley League title since 2019.

The Indians and Yellowjackets clashed twice this month, with the former winning each time in straight sets, including in the season finale on Thursday night. Aside from the undefeated Ripon squad, the Yellowjackets also experienced trouble with Hughson, dropping their Nov. 26 match by a 3-2 score.

Nevertheless, this year marked one of the most successful for the Hilmar program in recent memory. Led by 15-year head coach Patti Harris, their overall record was 24-8, including going 9-3 in conference competition. Each mark is their best since that remarkable 2019 season, where they 31-12 overall and undefeated in the TVL. That season ended in a loss to Burlingame in the second round of the Division 3 state tournament.

Their postseason journey this year will begin at home within the confines of the Strom Gymnasium on Tuesday when they take on Stockton’s Ben Holt College Prep Academy (27-6, 10-0 Central California Athletic Alliance). The Yellowjackets are the No. 3 seed in the bracket while the Bobcats are No. 14.

The 1-2 punch of hitters Finley Rosa and Alyssa Colston and the defensive prowess of libero Teygan Horstmeier have helped catapult the ‘Jackets to wins throughout the year. Rosa, a senior, leads the team with 320 kills, while Colston, a junior, is second with 240 to go with 42 aces. Horstmeier, another energetic senior, has racked up 409 digs and assisted on 45 instances.

As for their TVL foe, Hughson (14-13, 4-8), they are the 10th seed in the same bracket and are matched up with Sacramento’s West campus (29-5, 14-0 Greater Sacramento League). Despite having less regular season success and a lower seed, Hughson will host the match, per the section office, though a reason had not been confirmed at press time.

Denair’s long-awaited postseason return

For the first time in over 20 years, Denair is in the dance.

After winning 16 games in the regular season and going 9-5 in the Southern Athletic League (both all-time bests in the program's history), the Coyotes will be competing in the Division 5 playoff bracket, also beginning Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Coyotes will be on the road as they are the No. 9 seed while they are matched with the No. 8 seed, Rocklin’s Western Sierra Collegiate Academy (15-8, 11-3 Sac-Metro League). 

The Wolves will also be facing a Coyote team riding tons of momentum, as they ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak, ending with a 3-0 win over Delhi on Wednesday.

Qualifying for the playoffs seemed unlikely early on for the Coyotes, who began their league campaign by losing three of their first four matches, including 3-0 losses to Stone Ridge Christian and Mariposa. On Nov. 19, a 3-2 win over non-league opponent Pacheco of Los Banos began a six-game winning streak. They ran into some more road bumps earlier this month with second losses to each SRC and Mariposa before the strong finish.

At the helm for Denair is third-year head coach Marie Stucker, who has done a complete 180 of the program. Coming into 2023, the program had a streak of 14 straight losing seasons.