Pitman rolls over McClatchy in volleyball playoff opener

In a gesture introduced as a team tradition, the entire Pitman High School volleyball team gathered to perform the National Anthem before Monday night’s postseason opener.

It was the only time all night the Pride wasn’t in complete harmony.

Pitman, the top-seeded team in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs, hit very few wrong notes in a 25-13, 25-5, 25-6 victory over McClatchy of Sacramento, setting an early standard for performance as the two-week playoff season got underway.

“We came into the playoffs like we wanted to win, and we played our best and all out,” said senior setter Maddy Halteman, who had 25 assists to go with seven digs.

The Pride will take its 38-1 record into Thursday’s second-round match at home against the winner of Tuesday night’s St. Mary’s-Enochs match in Stockton. And while Pitman vows to be focused going into that match, the ultimate goal is to be able to put the program’s first section title banner on the wall of its cavernous gym.

McClatchy, which needed to get by Edison of Stockton in a play-in game Thursday just to reach this round, obviously was not in the same class talent-wise as Pitman. So what Pride coach Kristen Pontes-Christian was looking for from her team was a high level of play, no matter what the visiting Lions were doing.

“They stayed intense from beginning to end no matter what was happening on the other side of the net, so that’s all I can ask,” Pontes-Christian said. “They were running plays and staying consistent, so that was a good first playoff match.”

About the time that University of Oregon-bound outside hitter Lindsey Vander Weide pounded the fourth of her 18 kills early in the first set, the eyes of the McClatchy players began to get big in the realization of what exactly they were up against.

The Pride could relate. In the final of the Stockton Classic on Oct. 18, Pitman dropped its only match of the season 25-11, 25-15 to an Archbishop Mitty team that at the time was ranked No. 1 in the nation.

The chance to play Mitty was the exact reason Pontes-Christian entered her team in the elite event, and she was encouraged by their response to the loss.

“Obviously, we lost, and the girls hate losing, but it told them that we still need to work hard no matter our record and no matter what’s happening in our league,” Pontes-Christian said. “We had some great practices and good games after that. We’re still setting goals for every match because they need them to keep fighting and to have some kind of motivation.”

The Pride cleared another mental hurdle last Tuesday when it came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Sonora, the top-seeded team in Division IV.

“We hadn’t gone five games in a long, long time, so that was exactly what we needed,” Pontes-Christian said. “It was realistic to think we won’t go three games often in the playoffs. The next rounds could be four or five, so that was great for the girls. It also was great knowing that we could battle back.”

There would be no need for such heroics in the playoff opener, as Pitman took control of the first game by ripping off 10 consecutive points, then getting out 15-1 and 23-2 in the second set. And just when McClatchy was hoping to make the third set close by pulling within 10-6, the Pride finished its foe with 15 consecutive points.

There certainly will be better teams on the other side of the net in Pitman’s near future. On the other hand, the Pride can take solace in knowing it won’t see anybody as good as Mitty.

“It was really great for us to play Mitty because it gave us the experience of playing against the harder team,” Halteman said. “It made us better. We can be that good if we work hard and do our best. There’s still a lot of work that needs to be put in for us to be a great team, but I think we have the ability to do it.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2014 at 8:09 PM with the headline "Pitman rolls over McClatchy in volleyball playoff opener."