Pitman High School volleyball head coach Ari Amini knows that once the regional playoffs roll around, there are no easy matchups. Tuesday evening was no different as the third-seeded Pride (26-11) welcomed No. 14 Shasta of Redding (20-10 )into the Lion’s Dens for the opening round of the 2025 California Interscholastic Federation Division III State Volleyball Tournament.
An at-large bid into the bracket, the Pride fell in five sets to the Wolves (25-14, 22-25, 23-25, 25-21, 16-14), officially ending their season nearly two weeks after they initially thought to have entered the offseason. The undefeated Central California Athletic League champions for the fourth straight year were eliminated via sweep from the Sac-Joaquin Section’s Division I bracket by St. Mary’s of Stockton in the quarterfinal round on Oct. 30.
“I think they really embraced the opportunity to continue to play in these state playoffs because we didn't get to do it last year,” Amini said. “The girls were very disciplined at practice last Monday, though I think it was a little bit of a culture shock, but they turned it around and came in so focused today.”
Pitman won the opening set 25-14 backed by the four kills from sophomore Shanna Russell and four points — two kills and two aces — from senior Kayliyah Williams. Another kill from Russell was key in the Pride building a 7-2 lead. It extended to 19-11 with the help of four kills from senior Alyssa Moreno. But the Wolves battled back to a 22-22 tie with three aces and a pair of Pitman serving errors. Shasta clinched a 25-22 with two straight aces and a kill.
The Pride showed a similar fight in the third set, where Williams had another six kills and an ace. Her last two kills cut the Shasta lead t0 24-23, but was promptly ended with a kill. Pitman then forced the decisive fifth frame with the help of six kills courtesy of Maryn Hall. It ended with a spike for senior libero Aila Reich.
Hall carried the offensive momentum into the fifth set, where she recorded another three kills and a block. After eight ties and six lead changes, the Wolves secured the final two points with the Pride sending a return shot into the net and Phoebe Cancilla delivering a game-ending spike.
“We knew that everyone we were going to play in this tournament was going to be legit,” Amini said. “The first set, the girls came out just like I'd hoped they would. They came out strong and aggressive. Shasta is a good team. They're athletic, they jump, they swing. We've played teams like this, and we knew this wasn't going to be an easy match by any means. But they fought hard. I know it's hard on all of them, but I'm proud at the end of the day. They made the state playoffs. They should be happy about that. It’s a privilege to get this far.”
Williams finished with 10 kills and six aces. Hall totaled 11 kills, two aces and a pair of blocks. Russell and Moreno each added nine kills.
“The way everybody contributed made me so proud, ” Amini said. “I say that the second best outcome is going to five sets, and we were right there with them. Obviously, the best outcome is to win, but I know that it's a lot and it's probably exhausting to ramp back up again. They pushed through the (tiredness), and just having to fight through your season being extended like this is hard. They were ready to start club, some were burnt out, or whatever it might be, these girls have just fought all season.”
Amini said it was that teamwork, chemistry and collective buy-in on and off the court that made this year’s team so special.
Hilmar 3, Encinal 0
Down Lander Avenue, the Yellowjackets of Hilmar High succeeded in the first step in defending their CIF Northern California Division V crown with a first-round sweep of Encinal of Alameda.
It took just over an hour for the No. 2 Lady ‘Jackets (22-16) to do away with the No. 14 Jets (12-17), winning 25-17, 25-23, 25-18 inside a lively Strom Gymnasium.
Junior Emily Barroso led all scorers with 10 kills, while senior Alyssa Colston was effective as a server with five aces. Setting the table with 29 assists was senior Stella Pires, while junior Ava Stivers had seven digs. Senior Emma Gomes and junior Reese Ahlem each had a block to contribute defensively.
Hilmar will again host state playoff action on Thursday as the Yellowjackets take on the No. 7 Palma of Salina (14-13), who swept Oakland Tech on Tuesday by a 25-12, 25-18, 25-14 score. The D-V quarterfinal is slated for a 6 p.m. start.
Bullard 3, Hughson 1
Elsewhere in the Division III bracket that featured the Pride, Hughson High’s dream season came to an end, as they fell in four sets to Bullard High in Fresno.
After winning the Sac-Joaquin Section’s Division IV championship over the weekend, the Huskies (28-10) were dealt a hard hand by being placed a division high in the state tournament and seeded ninth, forced to hit the road to face the No. 8 Knights (29-9), the Central Section’s D-III champion.
The Knights won the first two sets by 25-18 and 25-19 scores, respectively, before the Huskies responded with a 25-17 win in the third frame. A back-and-forth fourth set ended 25-20 in favor of the Knights.
Statistics from the match were not available at press time.
