Pinasco enjoyed storybook ending to Buhach Colony volleyball career

Jessica Pinasco has been through a lot during her high school volleyball career at Buhach Colony.

The senior has had three varsity coaches. She was a sophomore on a team that went 0-15 in the Central California Conference in 2014.

It’s those experiences that made this season so special.

The CCC co-Offensive Player of the Year helped Buhach Colony enjoy a 22-12 season, which included a run to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semifinals and the CIF Northern California Regional semifinals.

“This season meant the world to me,” Pinasco said. “To go from a sophomore who never played on an 0-15 team to being a part of a team that makes it to the state regional semifinals, we wrote in the history book of Buhach Colony High School. It was so amazing.”

Pinasco is The Sun-Star Girls Volleyball Player of the Year.

She did a little of everything, leading the Thunder with 318 kills and 302 digs in the regular season. She was second on the team with 34 aces.

“The best part about Jessica is not only is she a great player, but she was also our emotional leader,” said Andy Hill, the Sun-Star’s Volleyball Coach of the Year. “She was our team captain, but she went far beyond the regular duties as a captain.”

The captain role was new for Pinasco.

“I’ve always been the baby on the team since my first year,” Pinasco said. “I’ve always been quiet and listened to everyone else. This year, it was different when Andy made me a team captain. I had a voice. The other girls looked up to me. I had to let them know when they did well and it’s OK when they made a mistake.”

The Thunder improved as the season went along. It was as if they were learning how good they could be, and it was Pinasco helping lead the way.

The big moment was a 3-2 win over Turlock, which went on to play for the Division I section championship against Pitman.

That win over an elite team showed the Thunder players what they could do. Pinasco was huge with 22 kills and 35 digs.

The win over Turlock gave the Thunder confidence in the big postseason matches. It allowed them to go on the road in the NorCal playoffs and defeat Burlingame in the quarterfinals.

“That win over Turlock, I remember Andy telling us, ‘Look at what you guys can do,’ ” Pinasco said. “ ‘Last year, you hardly believe in yourselves and you still made the playoffs. If you can believe in yourselves, you can go far.’ ”

Sports have always been a big part of the Pinasco household. Her father, Justin, is the defensive coordinator for the Merced College football team.

She feels her dad is a big reason she plays volleyball with a passion.

“He is everything for me and the reason I am the athlete I am today,” she said. “He’s taught me how to be a leader and to have passion. If you don’t love something, don’t do it. He loves football. It’s his life. Everything I struggle with, if I don’t talk to my volleyball coaches about it, I talk to my dad about it.”

Pinasco is grateful Hill took over the Thunder. He was the right coach for this group and helped stabilize the program, which resulted in a spectacular season.

“It was rough, having three different coaches in three different years,” Pinasco said. “It’s so hard to get better when you don’t have a coach with you for a period of time. You have to fix everything yourself. Luckily, Andy was our coach this past year.

“Andy really applied what he learned playing in college at BYU with us. We trusted him, and that helped us grow closer as a team. He taught us about commitment.”

This story was originally published December 28, 2016 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Pinasco enjoyed storybook ending to Buhach Colony volleyball career."