Pitman tops St. Francis to reach D-I volleyball title game
All Pitman’s Erika Rodriguez wanted was one block.
The stat sheet showed that the sophomore middle blocker got two, but it was her second that provided the final point in the Pride’s 19-25, 25-14, 25-13, 25-20 victory over St. Francis of Sacramento in their Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinal.
Pitman will be gunning for its first section banner when it takes on Pleasant Grove of Elk Grove, which beat Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills in five games, Friday at UC Davis at 8 p.m.
Rodriguez, who played for Pitman’s junior varsity team, got a text from varsity coach Kristen Pontes-Christian on Sunday, informing her that she should join the big club for practice on Monday. After practice, a little more than 24 hours before the semifinal, she was informed that she’d be starting for injured senior Kaitlyn Walters.
“One of my goals before the game was to get at least one block by myself,” said Rodriguez, who jumped up beside Madison King and swatted the St. Francis return to the floor for the Pride’s final point of the night. “It felt amazing.”
After dropping the first game, Pontes-Christian gathered senior captains Lindsey Vander Weide, Maddy Halteman and Ashleigh Phelps for a brief meeting.
“I just told them, ‘You need to lead by example and implement everything we’ve been working on,’” said Pontes-Christian, whose team improved to 40-1.
They did just that.
Outside hitter Vander Weide, the Pride’s All-American who will attend the University of Oregon on scholarship next season, finished with 18 kills and nine digs. Setter Halteman, who will attend Fresno State, doled out 29 assists. Phelps had 10 digs.
“Each year, we’ve gone a little farther than the year before,” said Vander Weide, the who won her second consecutive Central California Conference MVP award earlier this month. “We made it to the second round two years ago, and last year we made it to the semifinals. I didn’t want my high school volleyball career to be over.”
Pleasant Grove (30-7) was the Delta League champion this season, one game ahead of the Troubadours, who are coached by newly minted Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Famer Allyn Wright. St. Francis split with Pleasant Grove in two meetings this year.
“It’s going to be a battle,” said Wright, who wrapped up her 26th season at St. Francis. “Pitman’s got to be aggressive. They can’t sit back and wait.”
Pleasant Grove is led by sisters Alexis (6-foot-3 outside hitter) and (freshman setter) Liliana Light, and senior Sumeet Gill, a 6-3 middle blocker who will attend Oregon next season with Vander Weide, also 6-3.
“This is going to be the last match of the season for one team,” Pontes-Christian said. “No one wants to lose, so there’s going to be no easy points.”
Bee staff writer Joe Cortez can be reached at jcortez@modbee.com or (209) 578-2380. Follow him on Twitter @ModBeePreps.
This story was originally published November 18, 2014 at 11:48 PM with the headline "Pitman tops St. Francis to reach D-I volleyball title game."