SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The sixth-seeded St. Francis volleyball team posted as 3-1 victory over No. 3 Campolindo to advance to the CIF State Northern California Regional Semifinals. The Troubadours will play at Bishop O'Dowd at 4 p.m.

"I was proud of how hard they fought," said Head Coach Alynn Wright. "Campolindo is a very good team. They never gave up even in the two sets they were down. It could have gone either way."

St. Francis won the tight five-set battle 25-13, 20-25, 25-18, 18-25, 15-8.

"We had some very scrappy defensive plays in the fifth set that made the difference," said Wright.

The Troubies advanced to the CIF NorCal semifinals for the second time in the last three years. They face No. 2 Bishop O'Dowd that recorded a 3-0 win over No. 7 California. No. 1 Foothill hosts No. 12 Archbishop Mitty. The winners advance to the regional finals on Tuesday, Nov. 13.

Senior Kathryn Kramer had a career-high 23 kills while posting .300 hitting percentage. She added eight digs.

"This was one of the best matches I have ever seen her play," said Wright. "I am excited for her and I am happy she was able to do that tonight. She swung with a lot of confidence and it was fun to see her teammates rally around her."

Junior Alexa Edwards added 21 kills and 19 digs. Senior Sam Chavez led the team with 26 kills. Jesiree Moral had 43 assists and 21 digs for the team.

"Jesiree kept her composure and served out the game in a really big way," said Wright

The Troubies also got double-digit dig games from Julia Zara (15) and Danica Nelson (14).

St. Francis opened with a 25-13 win in the first set to fire up the home crowd. The teams exchanged sets as each side held momentum in the match. But the SF pulled out the fifth set to advance to the semifinals on Saturday.

"The crowd really pumped us up and our team was hyped and excited for each other," said Kramer.

The St. Francis student section zoo provided the Troubies with the added home court advantage on Friday.

"It is always nice to have fans in the stands," said Wright. "It always gives us that extra energy."