Volleyball Preview: Why CCAL is toughest league in Modesto area; Hilmar, others strong

With two defending CIF Sac-Joaquin Section champions in the area, the high school girls’ volleyball season already is off to a great start and set up to give fans a thrilling finish with four of the top teams in the area all in the CCAL after league realignment.

Here are some teams to watch:

Modesto

The Panthers are off to an 11-1 start and won the Orestimba Tournament on Aug. 18, beating defending section Division 4 champion, Hilmar in straight sets.

But before the season, head coach Traci Harris was a little uneasy about this year’s squad.

“My first scrimmage, I was thinking, ‘Oh my gosh’ this is not going to be fun,” Harris said. “They turned it on at the Orestimba tournament. It was a hot day and my team hadn’t had a break and the girls were hungry and thirsty. There wasn’t even a doubt, they expected to win.”

Senior captains Alyssa Cover, Tori Galloway, and Hannah Scott headline the talented Panthers squad, most of whom have played together at Modesto High as well as the same club team.

“They have high volleyball IQ,” Harris said. “Alyssa is our setter, she is my speaking captain. Tori is a powerhouse get everyone going type of leader and Hannah is a really smart player.”

Cover and Galloway were first-team Modesto Metro Conference honorees last year and both have been on varsity all four years.

Cover is a popular name around Modesto High; her sister Kate is a freshman on the team and both of their parents were athletes at Modesto. Their uncle Matt also is a teacher on campus.

Harris thinks her team matches up well with Pitman and Turlock, two of the other top teams in the new Central California Athletic League and a lot of the girls know each other from competing in club volleyball.

“If we are playing strong, we can come out and compete with every single team,” Harris said. “They have the intensity and mindset that they can do this. They don’t quit.”

Turlock

The 2018 Turlock team looks a little different with the departure of two-time Stanislaus District Player of the Year, Julia Handy, now a freshman at the University of Arizona. Also gone from the 2017 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 champions are Jadyn Tubbs (University of the Pacific) and Isabella Bush (UC Riverside).

“We are steeped with heart and potential,” Turlock coach Amber Lugo said. “We are grounded with the leadership and ability of juniors Jazmyn Tubbs and Mary Padilla.”

Tubbs led the team in kills last year. With the losses of Bush, Handy, and Tubbs, among others, the culture around Turlock is a little different.

“The entire team is working in new positions and having success,” Lugo said. “We are a young team loaded with talent and great attitudes.”

Pitman

After five straight years of at least 28 wins and three with section titles, the Pride had a “down” year in 2017 when they went 17-16 and lost to Elk Grove in the first round of the playoffs.

“Last year, we had a rough season,” Pride coach Kristen Pontes-Christian said. “We graduated a couple of seniors. We are in a new league and there are a lot of unknowns but we want to win league.”

Pontes-Christian said the team battled through a lot of injuries and there wasn’t a single point during the 2017 season where the Pride had a healthy roster.

The Pride are off to a slow start this year and Pontes-Christian said they are still “figuring out puzzle pieces”.

Senior Madison King, who led the Central California Conference in blocks last year, returns along with seniors Emily Hirschkorn and Emily Vander Weide, who both are playing new positions. Hirschkorn moved from setter to the right side while Vander Weide is now in the middle after playing outside last year.

“The senior class, they have a lot of club experience,” Pontes-Christian said. “We can do some great things but we are still working on the lineup and building our chemistry.”

Hilmar

The Yellowjackets finally snapped a streak of four straight section title game losses last year when they won the Division IV title in straight sets over Bret Harte.

In her 10th year coaching at Hilmar, Patti Harris has scheduled a lot of nonleague games and a couple of tough tournaments to help her team get into a “groove early” before league play began.

“The foundation of the team is pretty strong this year,” Harris said. “Every year is very different with a different makeup of the girls and different personalities. This year, we have a great group of girls and they have been pretty tight from the get-go.”

Sophomore Mikela Labno and junior Olivia Peterson were second and third on the team in kills last year and return as well as junior setter Emma Martin, who has done a fantastic job early on this season, according to Harris.

Hilmar already has swept Turlock and has a couple of quality wins at the High Sierra Tournament.

“It was a tough competition (Reno tournament),” Harris said. “I am teaching these young girls how to play under pressure. Whenever you play harder teams, you can see what you need to work on.”

Some other teams and players to watch out for:

• Escalon made it to the Division IV semifinals last year and despite losing its top three kills leaders, juniors Melanie Smith and Mya Beary are going to have a heavier role on offense.
• Gregori won six of the last MMC titles, including last year, and will look to continue its success in its first year in the CCAL. Megan Toon is in her first year as head coach and juniors Mara Semone (leads team in kills) and Biana Dowlett (second in kills) are the Jaguars top players.
• Big Valley Christian has redemption on its mind after finishing as Division VI runner ups last year and losing in the Division VI NorCal State Championship. Both losses came against Woodland Christian. Senior Julia Copland, who led the team in blocks and was third in kills last year, is back.
• Beyer is the favorite to win the Western Athletic Conference behind sophomore Olivia Keller, who led the team with 521 kills last year and was a first-team MMC honoree.
• Central Catholic started the season 4-0 and freshman Abby Castillon leads the team with 67 kills.

• Playoff Info

  Playoffs for Divisions I through IV begin on Oct. 22 while Divisions V and VI start the next day. Championship sites are TBA.

  GAMES TO WATCH

  Sept. 11: Stone Ridge Christian at Big Valley Christian

  Sept. 12: Modesto at Pitman

  Sept. 26: Pitman at Turlock

  Oct. 1: Escalon at Hilmar

  Oct. 4: Manteca at Central Catholic

  Oct. 10: Modesto at Gregori

This story was originally published September 7, 2018 at 11:13 AM.