Pitman, Sonora, Stone Ridge Christian bow out of NorCal volleyball playoffs

Saturday night was tough for Stanislaus District volleyball teams.

Pitman and Sonora, the reigning Northern California champions in Divisions I and IV, along with Stone Ridge Christian, were eliminated from the CIF NorCal Regionals.

Second-seeded Pitman, which won its second consecutive Sac-Joaquin Section D-I championship last week, fell in four sets – 26-28, 25-21, 25-20, 25-22 – to No. 3 Menlo-Atherton in a rematch of last year’s NorCal title match.

No. 3 Sonora, the defending state champion and winner of a third consecutive D-IV section title last week, lost to No. 2 Marin Catholic 26-24, 25-13, 25-21.

Stone Ridge Christian, the section runner-up in D-VI and a No. 4 seed in the regionals, saw its season end with a 25-15, 25-11, 25-16 loss to top-seeded San Francisco Waldorf.

The Pride (30-7) overcame a 17-10 deficit in the first set to beat Menlo-Atherton, which advanced to face top-seeded Monte Vista (Danville), but fizzled in the second set.

“They were a great team, and we battled to come back in the first game,” said Pitman coach Kristen Pontes-Christian, who is 179-34 (.840) since 2010. “I just wish we could have kept that momentum going into the second game.”

Neither team led by more than three points in the second set until the final point, when the Bears closed it out for a 25-21 win.

In the third set, Pitman again trailed 17-10 but again rallied to within 20-17. This time, however, the charge fell short and Menlo-Atherton took a 2-1 lead.

In the final set, the Pride led most of the way, but the Bears reeled them in at 22-22 and closed it out with three unanswered points.

Jacqueline DiSanto was the force behind Menlo-Atherton’s victory. The 5-foot-4 outside hitter combined powerful swings with tremendous leaping ability and tenacious defense to wreak havoc on the Pride.

“She’s been our leader on offense and defense,” first-year Bears coach Fletcher Anderson said. “I actually think she’s better against the block up.”

The junior agreed.

“I play a lot of beach volleyball,” DiSanto said. “Beach helps my jumping ability and my all-around play, I guess.”

Individually for the Pride, sophomore Whitney Barnes had 14 kills, 17 digs, four blocks and two aces, and junior Yisel Perez had 12 kills. Junior setter Kiyanna Torres had 35 assists, and senior libero Lauren Solis totaled 29 digs.

Though Pitman was outgunned, when the final point was played, there weren’t the tears often accompanied by a season-ending loss.

“The fact that we’re one of the top eight teams left in the state was way more than anyone expected,” senior Kaylene Ureno said. “To come this far, when we weren’t expected to, is a big accomplishment.”

This story was originally published November 29, 2015 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Pitman, Sonora, Stone Ridge Christian bow out of NorCal volleyball playoffs."