The 2026 Central California Athletic League volleyball championship will come down to the final day of the regular season after Pitman pulled out a thrilling five-set victory on the road Monday night against crosstown rival Turlock.

After dropping the fourth set in non-competitive fashion by a 25-10 score, the Pride came roaring back and cruised to a 15-9 win in the deciding set. The 25-23, 18-25, 25-23, 10-25, 15-9 match win improved Pitman’s record to 21-9 and to 8-1 against conference opponents.

Leading Pitman was standout junior middle blocker Shanna Russell, who dominated in all phases of the game en route to racking up a game-high 16 kills and 13 total blocks.

Sister Savanna Russell, a freshman, chipped in another nine kills and four blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Mila Dias added 10.

The Pride remain one game behind Downey for first place in the CCAL standings.

The 9-0 Knights are already guaranteed at least a share of this year’s title. Pitman, the five-time defending champion, can still end the year beside the Knights atop of the final standings with a win in Wednesday night’s finale.

The Pride and Knights are expected to get underway from the Pitman High gymnasium at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Pitman’s lone CCAL loss this year has come against the Knights, 3-1, on Oct. 5. It snapped a 53-game winning streak against conference opponents for the Pride.

Both programs are locked in for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, which get underway next week.

Following Wednesday’s and Thursday’s slate of games, the section will release brackets for each of its six playoff brackets on Friday by 5 p.m.

Necessary play-in contests will take place on Monday, and the first round across all divisions will commence on Tuesday.