Turlock snaps crosstown rival Pitman’s 58-match league winning streak in volleyball

Turlock High School did Monday night what no other Central California Conference volleyball team has been able to do in four years: beat Pitman.

The Bulldogs (31-9, 9-1 CCC) stopped the Pride’s 58-match conference winning streak with a 9-25, 31-29, 25-18, 25-21 victory at a packed Turlock High gymnasium and earned a share of the league crown for the first time since 2006.

“After the first game, I thought, ‘Uh-oh,’ ” said Turlock coach Amber Castillon, whose team won a coin flip Tuesday and will be the No. 1 seed out of the CCC ahead of Pitman. “There was just so much adrenaline. We were doing everything right but with a bad outcome. Balls were flying everywhere. But they just fixed it.”

After falling flat in the opener, the Bulldogs settled in and won a marathon second game 31-29, then went on to win the next two. Had they lost that second game, it would have put the team in an entirely different mindset.

“I was sitting there thinking, ‘If we win this one, then it’s game on,’ ” Castillon said. “Who wants it more? And they just would not give up.”

Late in Game 2, libero Brett Hanson was able to dig a Pitman shot, but the ball came off her at an odd angle. Sophomore Kennedy Folly was able to pop the ball up with her foot, and Jadyn Tubbs knocked it over the net. The ball came back, and the Bulldogs were able to set up a kill.

“Without Kennedy popping it up with her foot, they would’ve had game point in the second game,” said Tubbs, a sophomore outside hitter. “The momentum would’ve really been with Pitman had they won that second game.”

Tubbs and teammate Emily Romo each had a match-high 20 kills, while Yisel Perez paced the Pride with 14. Turlock setter Julia Handy had 48 assists, and Pitman’s Kiyanna Torres had 29. Loren Solis paced Pitman with 14 digs.

Pitman (24-6, 9-1), the reigning Sac-Joaquin Section and Northern California champion in Division I, had not lost a league match since Oct. 19, 2011, in Merced, when the Pride fell 25-19, 20-25, 25-23, 19-25, 15-12 to Golden Valley, with which it went on to share the league title.

“Looking forward, I think we’re much more confident in ourselves,” Tubbs said. “In our heads, it helps to know we can beat a team like Pitman.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Turlock snaps crosstown rival Pitman’s 58-match league winning streak in volleyball."