STOCKTON, Calif. – The St. Francis volleyball team finished sixth at the Stockton Classic, finishing 2-2 with close three-set losses to Palo Alto and Archbishop Mitty in two bracket finals.
"We battled," said Head Coach Alynn Wright. "The two losses we had were against Bay area teams. They get to have tough battles day in and day out with every league match that they play. They are a little more battle-tested than we are right now at this point so we have to pick up our practice intensity."
The Troubadours (29-2) opened the day with a straight-set win over Nueva 25-9, 25-11 in Bracket D. SF won the opening set against Palo Alto in the bracket final before losing 25-23, 15-10.
The loss dropped St. Francis, the no. 2 seed in the tournament, to the Silver Bracket. They then opened with a three-set win over St. Francis Mountain View. After dropping the first set 24-26, they rallied for a 25-22, 15-9 win. St. Francis then faced Archbishop Mitty in the Silver Bracket final, losing in three sets 25-21, 22-25, 15-13.
"We saw some things we want to work on to get us ready for what we want to do," said Wright. "I am proud of the girls. They fought and they came back in some of the sets we did win. We still have work to do."
Palo Alto went on to reach the Gold Bracket final against Marin Catholic, losing in three sets 24-26, 25-19, 15-10.
St. Francis was 27-0 entering the weekend, extending the win streak to a school-record 28 games before the loss to Palo Alto.
St. Francis travels to Sheldon on Tuesday before hosting Cosumnes Oaks (25-7) on Thursday for Senior Night. The Wolfpack's lone league loss came to St. Francis earlier in the season.
Stockton Classic - Bracket D
St. Francis 2, Nueva 0 (25-9, 25-11)
Palo Alto 2, St. Francis 1 (19-25, 25-23, 15-10)
Stockton Classic - Silver Bracket
St. Francis (Sac) 2, St. Francis (MV) 1 (24-26, 25-22, 15-9)
Archbishop Mitty 2, St. Francis 1 (25-21, 22-25, 15-13)