Local Digest: Area volleyball teams advance to second round

Five area teams advanced to the second round of the high school volleyball playoffs with wins on Tuesday.

In Division I, Pitman beat Davis in four sets and were led by senior outside hitter Emily Vander Weide, who had 21 kills. The Pride will host Pleasant Grove on Thursday.

Top-seeded Central Catholic beat Merced in straight sets to advance and host El Camino in the second round of Division III. Freshman outside hitter Abby Castillon had 19 kills while junior setter McKenize Lettice had 27 assists for the Raiders.

In Division IV, Hilmar, Ripon, and Escalon all advanced as well while Ripon Christian (Div. V) and Big Valley Christian (Div. VI) will begin their quest for a title on Thursday.

Modesto, meanwhlie, had a night filled with errors and a lack of communication and lost in straight sets to Folsom.

“I didn’t anticipate that,” Panthers coach Traci Harris said after Tuesday’s loss.

The Panthers lose four seniors to graduation including all three of their captains: Alyssa Cover, Tori Galloway, and Hannah Scott.

Galloway is Harris’s daughter and she called it an “awesome privilege” to coach her daughter.

“They are a great group of seniors,” Harris said. “It’s hard to end on this.”

Cover had 24 assists and 20 digs while Galloway had three blocks. Freshman Kate Cover had nine kills and five aces.

Turlock coach sprints home: Turlock football coach James Peterson had to “sprint” from the sideline to his car after the Bulldogs beat Gregori last Friday because his wife was having contractions and thought she was going into labor.

Fortunately, “everything turned out OK” Peterson said on Tuesday. The baby is not due for another month.

Earlier this month, Hilmar defensive coordinator Mark Santos and his family welcomed twins after Hilmar beat Hughson on Oct. 5. Front Row Preps reporter Conor McGill broke the news on Twitter.

Oakdale to Masters: Led by a 4-over-par round by junior Madison Blanc, Oakdale advanced to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament after finishing first at the Division III Section Tournament on Monday at the Rancho Del Rey Golf Course.

The Mustangs team score of 403 was 48 strokes ahead of Vista del Lago who finished in second. Blanc finished second overall, one stroke behind Wood junior Jalyn Robinson, who shot 75.

The Masters tournament will be held at the Reserve at Spanos Park Golf Course next Monday in Stockton.

Section Tennis: Central Catholic sophomore Colleen Ballatore will face Sierra junior Kaitlyn Rausa for the Valley Oak League title on Thursday at the Manteca Regional Tennis Center. Rausa is the two-time defending Valley Oak League champion but has lost twice this year to Ballatore, who is 17-0.

Water Polo Pairings: The CIF-SJS will be releasing their playoff pairings for both boys and girls water polo on Friday. The Johansen boys and Turlock boys and girls teams should have high seeds after winning their respectable leagues.