Crushing it: Pitman volleyball coach Pontes-Christian nets 250th win.

Add another jewel to her crown.

Pitman High girls volleyball coach Kristen Pontes-Christian earned her 250th career victory on Tuesday evening with a 3-0 sweep of Merced. Pitman won, 25-8, 25-15 and 25-16, and hasn’t lost a Central California Conference match since Oct, 4, 2016.

“It’s a testament to her perseverance that she was able to reach the number 250,” Pitman athletic director Dave Walls said. “Even after the match, she was like, ‘OK, this is what I do.’ She didn’t blow it up, but I think it’s great that we have the opportunity to blow it up for her.”

Cierra Verdone had seven kills, six digs, five aces and one block for the Pride, who improved to 3-0 in league and 10-5 overall. Emma Hirschkorn steered the offense with 16 assists, while Grace Willming finished with six kills and Madison Wood six aces.

Pontes-Christian reached the 250-win club in less than 11 complete seasons. Officially, she is 250-93-2 with a long list of accolades. In June, Pontes-Christian was named the Northern California Volleyball Coach of the Year by the California Coaches Association, an award that recognizes her program’s consistency and high expectations.

The Pride are the three-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division I champion, a feat matched by only three programs: Davis of Yolo (1983-85), St. Mary’s (1991-96) and Nevada Union (2002-08).

Pitman has also won six straight CCC titles and remain a favorite to contend despite its graduation losses and injuries.

Seniors Whitney Barnes and Kaylin Randhawa are out indefinitely as they recover from leg injuries. Randhawa is expected to re-join the team in the next couple of weeks, while Pontes-Christian fears Barnes, a San Jose State commit, will miss the rest of the high school and club season.

“I’m always impressed with coaches, and I think there are a lot of good coaches, coaches that persevere over a long period of time,” Walls said. “I came in as AD in her second year as volleyball coach, and she has grown the program through travel ball, conditioning and the volleyball skill work they do. She has grown the program from a middle-of-the-road (program). Its takes good coaching and good girls, and sometimes, it takes outstanding athletes. She’s coached all those types of kids.”

This year’s team is off to another impressive league campaign.

The Pride haven’t yielded a set in six matches, including decisive victories over Atwater, Golden Valley and Merced to start league. The last team to take a set off Pitman was Buhach Colony in the Central California Classic. The Thunder won 2-0. The two meet again Thursday in Atwater.

"Buhach has some weapon," Pontes-Christian said. "Between Cameron (Gray) and Miranda (Baptista), they play well together. With Kaylin being out, it's going to be another tough match. They played us the best they've played all season, and that's no surprise. I think it's going to be another tough match and the girls know that."

Pitman, Turlock and Buhach Colony are the only unbeaten teams in the CCC. Each is ranked in the top-50 in the section, according to MaxPreps’ computer rankings. As of Tuesday evening, Turlock was No. 1, Pitman No. 15 and Buhach Colony No. 36.

Pontes-Christian credits the formation of Crush club volleyball in 2009 for the program's traction. In her first three seasons, Pitman failed to top the .500 mark. Since 2010, the Pride is 217-42.

"I feel like it's more a combination of the players' hard work over the last five-plus years, the year-round volleyball and the extra time we've put in," she said. "I don't want the focus on me. I want the focus on Pitman volleyball and the success we've had. That's what I'm most proud of.

"We started this thing from the bottom up. When I took over, it was more losing seasons than winning seasons. That's where the number 250 is an honor, because it was rough in the beginning. The expectations were low. When you thought of Pitman sports, volleyball wasn't even on the radar. Once we started Crush, I feel like that was the turning point."

To contact reporter James Burns, email jburns@modbee.com, or follow him on Twitter @jburns1980.

This story was originally published September 20, 2017 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Crushing it: Pitman volleyball coach Pontes-Christian nets 250th win.."