ONLINE EXCLUSIVE -- A late rally gave Oakdale High’s varsity volleyball team taste of a comeback in the third game, but Pitman netters capitalized on repeated kill attempts to steal a 3-0 victory from the host Mustangs in Oakdale’s first official contest of the season on Wednesday.
Pitman advanced to 2-1 on the year.
“I think by the third game we started to move to the ball better and had some good adjustments, but we had a lack of balls being passed up front for plays,” Oakdale coach Shelli Ponce said afterwards. “(Pitman) is a good team.”
Oakdale appeared in control at the start of the match after a 4-0 lead in the opening game, but Pitman fired back to tie things up at 10-all before a three-point rally to take a 25-23 win.
Big Pitman kills battered Oakdale’s back line in the second game, and a 18-8 swing gave the Pride a 25-15 victory as a result.
Oakdale trailed by no more than four points throughout game three and gained momentum after kills from Domi Powell and Justina Keith to trail 23-24. Pitman drove home the final point on a big block to sweep the match.
Powell finished with six kills and four blocks while Kellie Gratigny compiled four aces and 16 assists. Brittany Salas popped up 12 digs while Keith ended with five digs and three kills.
Pitman went 25-8 and won a division I playoff game a season ago. They were a good test for an Oakdale lineup that adjusted often through the contest.
The Oakdale varsity tackles the High Sierra Tournament on Friday.
A tight contest between Pitman and Oakdale junior varsity teams came down to a thrilling third-game tiebreaker in extra points.
The 1-1 deadlock finally split when three straight Pitman points gave the JV Pride an 18-16 finale to take the match (2-1).
“I thought we played awesome compared to how we had been playing in practice,” Oakdale coach Cassie Clark said. “That last game was the best we have played all season.”
Oakdale snared the first game after a 25-22 score, but fell behind early and dropped the second 25-14. Oakdale rallied to come back and tie the third at 15-all, but couldn’t capitalize on a 16-15 lead and surrendered a win.
Hannah Butler dished out 14 assists while Leah Burchell sent home six kills. Sabrina Franciosa added seven digs.
Golf
Oakdale golfer Mabel Wong birdied the 429-yard par-five on hole No. 1 and the 294-yard par-four on hole No. 7 to land a stellar 35-stroke performance during Oakdale’s 268-312 victory over Kimball of Tracy at the Oakdale Golf and Country Club on Tuesday.
Nicole Stastny chipped in a 48 for Oakdale while Kimberly Russell shot 58. Valerie Zemlyanskaya ended in 63 strokes while Rebecca Cone shot a 64 and Dylanie Donahue a 65.
