This week is all about the crosstown rivalry between Turlock and Pitman. On Thursday, they’ll go at each other in the Pitman pool in water polo action. The week will culminate on the gridiron in the 21st annual Harvest Bowl on Friday at Joe Debely Stadium. But before all that, the schools clashed on the court inside Bulldog Arena in a volleyball showdown on Tuesday night.
Per usual, the fans, particularly each student section, were loud and proud. They were similar circumstances to what the players competed under in their first meeting on Sept. 19 in which the Pride overcame early match jitters to defeat the Bulldogs 3-1.
This time around on Tuesday, it took Pitman five sets (18-25, 25-16, 25-18, 23-25, 15-12) to put away their rivals, led by an offensive charge from the trio of juniors Maryn Hall and Kayliah Williams and senior Mia Ngo.
Williams and Ngo were consistent scorers throughout the match, totaling 25 and 22 kills, respectively. But it was Hall who helped shake off the pesky Bulldogs, who came back from four separate deficits in the fourth set to force the divisive fifth frame. She had three kills in the last seven sequences of play, including the 15th and final point.
“I think once the game gets more intense and it's getting closer, that's when my adrenaline really kicks in,” explained Hall. “I'm really competitive, so that's when that adrenaline really kicked in, I was like, ‘You need to put this away right now.’”
It’s the type of command any coach would want from their top scorer. Heading into the match, Hall led the Pride with 345 kills on the year. Williams was second with 191 and Ngo third with 180. They all drew praise from Pitman head coach Ari Amini.
“I’m not complaining one bit,” he joked. “Mia and Marin are great, two pins that put the ball away. Kayliyah, for only being 5-foot-7, is going up there and swinging against some big blocks and putting the ball away. Our middles have really started to establish themselves as a hitting presence, so it's starting to all click. It’s clicking at the right time.”
Ngo also led all players with six aces. Williams was also clutch defensively with 33 digs, second to teammate Aila Reich who had 34.
Amini was also delighted to see his team continuing to rebound from adversity. Coming into Tuesday’s match, the Pride were coming off three straight losses to powerhouses Amador Valley (Pleasanton), Campolindo (Moraga) and Monte Vista (Danville) over the weekend at the prestigious Stockton Classic. The long matches and days is what Amiri points to when analyzing another slow start against the Bulldogs. Just like their match last month, the Pride dropped the opening set.
“We came off a pretty tough weekend, so I could tell the girls were pretty tired,” he said. “It's like, ‘Hey, we played really good teams and lost, but we still have Turlock on Tuesday. But this team always seems to start a little slow.”
At the same time, he acknowledged the improvements that Turlock has made, giving an abundance of credit to their own first-year coach, Stacie Macias.
“Turlock came up stronger. They've definitely improved. Stacie’s doing a phenomenal job with those girls, and we just made the right fixes at the end to establish ourselves as top of the league.”
The win pushed the Pride’s season record to 24-6 and their Central California Athletic League record to 6-0. The result, meanwhile, dropped the Bulldogs to 10-7 overall and 3-2 in conference play. They are now in third place behind a 4-2 Downey team and, of course, the undefeated Pitman squad.
Turlock’s hitting duo of senior Lauren Parker and sophomore Amelia Spaulding also filled up the box score. Spaulding had 23 kills and an ace on the night while Parker pitched in 17. With the score knotted at 21 in the fourth set, Parker and Spaulding each had a pair of kills in the last six sequences to keep their hopes of a win alive. But it just wouldn’t be enough.
“They’re a good team,” Hall said of Turlock, “and beating them is definitely going to boost our confidence and show us that we can achieve our goal of winning CCAL. This is great for our team.”
Turlock will turn their attention to a 4-13 Modesto team that has gone winless in six CCAL matches. They’ll face off Thursday at Bulldog Arena. The Pride hope to keep rolling in their regular season when they host Downey, also slated for Thursday.
