GRANITE BAY, Calif. – Junior opposite Caroline Foraker posted a team-high 11 kills while senior outside Olivia Mlikotin added another 10 against just two hitting errors, as St. Francis outlasted Granite Bay in four sets, 25-18, 13-25, 25-15, 25-16 in a battle of two Sacramento-area ranked volleyball programs Tuesday night.
The Troubadours entered the match at No. 6 in this week's Tracy Toyota 49ers Sac-Hi Sports rankings, one spot below the host Grizzlies.
"I thought we had some tough serving toward the end of the match, which made a big difference," said veteran SFHS head coach Alynn Wright. "There is still a lot of work to be done, but I'm excited that we're making progress. Our serving took them out of system. Instead of getting in-system swings, we were getting some easy down balls and free balls, then we could transition and run our offense."
The two teams battled to a 13-13 tie in the first set before the Troubies scored seven of nine to craft a 19-15 lead. Mlikotin had two kills in that stretch, while senior middle blocker Sophia Garza slammed a shot through the block at the 16-13 point. Foraker notched two kills in the final four points to seal the win.
However, Granite Bay stormed to a commanding 25-13 victory to equalize the match score at 1-1. Senior setter Skye DiGiulio served up three aces in a run of seven unanswered, then senior middle Abby Haas managed back-to-back to extend the Grizzly lead to 20-10.
"I thought we lost focus and they did a good job coming out aggressive, serving aggressive," said Wright. "And we played as individuals instead of as a team, which is what I said to them. They figured out the team aspect and started getting excited for each other. With our teams over the years that were successful, they played for their teammates rather than for themselves."
St. Francis turned an initial 5-2 hole into a 9-7 lead in the third. Foraker notched four kills and a big solo stuff by the right pin in that frame, while setter Kelsey Magley served up two of her three match aces. The Troubies continued to craft their lead, making it 21-13 on Magley's aces, then 23-14 on Mlikotin's ace (also one of three). Foraker put back a stray free ball for set point, then Mila Stojakovic fired a kill through the GB block for the winner.
Granite Bay jumped out to an early start again in the fourth, scoring five of the first six and building to a 12-8 edge. However, junior libero Jackie Smith went to the service line and sparked her team to eight straight points, flipping the deficit into a 16-12 lead. The 8-0 stretch ended up as part of a 15-2 span, pulling SF to the fourth-set victory. Foraker's slide attach landed points No. 22 and 24 in the stanza, then Mlikotin finished off the match with her third ace.
Wright was pleased at the turnaround after a disappointing 3-0 home loss to Rocklin to start the season. "We've taken some steps forward, definitely. We still have to find that chemistry. I thought we served well and we had a couple of hitters that found a couple of holes. But what I liked was the grit we showed tonight. We had to earn it. Lots of people were able to get in and help."
Both the Troubadour junior varsity and frosh teams won in 2-0 sweeps earlier in the evening. The younger squad won its opener 25-14, then overcame a 0-6 hole to claim the 25-12 victory in the second. The JV team ran away with a 25-16 opener, thanks in part to an 8-2 late run. The Troubies and Grizzlies traded 4-0 runs throughout the second, with Isabella Ramos' joust helping to a 22-18 lead. GB never closed the margin to less than three, with SF pulling away to a 25-19 second set.
The St. Francis varsity heads to Reno for the High Sierra Invitational on Friday and Saturday, while the jayvees travel to Oak Ridge for their edition of the Christine Craft Memorial Invitational. The Troubie freshmen are idle until the Delta League opener at Franklin on September 6.
