This season is one for the history books. Pitman High’s varsity volleyball team, stacked with eight seniors, four juniors, a sophomore and a freshman, is making history one game at a time.
A freshman on Varsity!? What!? Freshman, Whitney Barns was pulled up this year to play with the varsity girls, and seems to be a great fit for the team considering how great the season is going. Barns is 5’10” and her club team finished second in the nation this season. When asked how she feels about being the only the freshman on the team she said, “It’s been a thrill!”
This season wouldn’t be as successful without the coaching of Pontes and Inman. Senior Stephanie Simmons has played for Pontes before and stated, “I love the way that Paola and Pontes push us to work hard and always cheer us on through everything we do.” Whitney agreed with Stephanie, “They’re great coaches! They push me to do my best and work hard.”
With the latest win last Wednesday night against Golden Valley, the Pride have already clenched the CCC title for their fourth consecutive year. The CCC, Central California Conference, holds six teams: Merced, Buhach Colony, Atwater, Golden Valley, Turlock, and Pitman. Coached by Kristen Pontes-Kristen and Paola Inman, the Pride have swept over the CCC with an undefeated league season (12-0)
Taylor Rivera, senior, discussed her thoughts on the season saying, “I think we have a very strong team this year and we play really well together which makes us even stronger. No matter what goes on, we always manage to pull it together. I know that all our hard work will show during playoffs.”
Pitman has competed in three tournaments: Golden Valley, Santa Cruz Invitational, and the Stockton Classic. The team finished first in both the Golden Valley and Santa Cruz Invitational tournaments, something Pitman has never done before. However, they took second in the Stockton Classic after a loss to Archbishop Mitty, a private school from San Jose, currently ranked first in the state and second in the Nation. Pitman is 12-0 for league and 32-1 for the overall season.
While the Pride no longer hold an undefeated record for the overall season, Coach Pontes told the Modesto Bee, “It was great to see that caliber of play and it reminds the girls of what we’re coming up against in play offs.”
Last year in play offs, Pitman beat Enochs and Oakridge, but lost their chance at a section title to GraniteBay. Pitman hopes to go into the postseason strong, and fight their way to the state title.
Ashleigh Phelps, senior and co-captain, stated, “I think the season’s going better than I expected. Everyone is connecting well and we really click on the court. I believe we could go very far in playoffs and possibly win them, but we have to keep working hard to be the best.”
With three league games left, the pride is looking for some support from their fellow classmates. So come out and support your varsity volleyball team next week against their cross-town rivals!