ROCKLIN, Calif. – Junior opposite Caroline Foraker posted a team-high 11 kills on 24 swings, while junior libero Jacqueline Smith scooped up a team-leading 17 digs, propelling fifth-seeded St. Francis to a 25-14, 25-19, 25-14 sweep of fourth-seeded Rocklin in the quarterfinal round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I Championship tournament Thursday night.
The Troubadours avenge two early-season losses to the Thunder, improving to 22-7 overall and advancing to Tuesday's quarterfinal at No. 1-seeded St. Mary's. The Rams, winners of the Tri-City Athletic Conference, swept No. 9 Turlock by scores of 25-16, 25-12 and 25-19.
Foraker committed just three errors for a .333 hitting average, while senior outside hitter Olivia Mlikotin added another eight kills to go with 12 digs. Six of Foraker's kills came in the second set, almost exclusively on off-speed shots and the sixth of which came from beyond the 10-foot line to close out a long rally.
Senior middle blocker Sophia Garza provided another three kills, with her primary contributions coming on the block: she had back-to-back stuffs as part of a 5-0 Troubie run in the waning moments of the first, then enjoyed a solo stuff early in the third. Setter Kelsey Magley served up six aces while tallying 28 assists.
Magley had two such aces in SF's 5-0 start to the opening set, in which Rocklin did not manage a ball back over the net. Foraker and junior middle Lily Zeff teamed up for a block to make it 8-2, while Garza and Mlikotin hammered out two loud kills to extend the edge to 13-5. The Thunder later managed a brief run of four unanswered to close the gap to 16-10, then RHS senior McKenna Williams pounded down a four ball to help narrow the Troubie lead to 17-12. However, an errant set handed St. Francis a side out, with Garza's consecutive blocks following to push the advantage back to 20-12. A Zeff ace – her first of three for the match – and a Thunder hit into the net completed the 5-0 run. Charlise Rowe knocked down a kill for the 24th point, and a Rocklin serve fell short for the 25th.
Rocklin regrouped to start the second set, crafting a 7-3 lead thanks in part to an ace from setter Ava Pabalate and block by the freshman tandem of Rylee Heinz and Gianna Bogan. But St. Francis responded with a 7-0 run of its own, getting two kills from Rowe by the left pin and two more from Mlikotin from the back row.
The Thunder largely stayed within reaching distance of their guests during the middle stages of the second, eventually taking a 16-15 lead on a pair of Troubie hitting miscues. Rowe's kill evened the frame at 16-16 – the seventh and final tie – then Foraker finessed her way to consecutive kills. Her two-handed shoot found the back corner of the Rocklin court, then a tip found an open spot in the defense to bring SF back to an 18-16 lead. The Rowe-Foraker pairing came through again shortly after. Rowe hit another four ball, Foraker with a well-placed shoot from the back row, resulting in a 21-17 lead. Foraker then had her sixth kill of the second set on a scrambling rally, setting the board at 23-19. A Rocklin hit sailed long and a double on a set gave St. Francis the final two points to extend the match lead to 2-0.
The Troubies never trailed in the third and final set. Magley had three more aces in a 4-0 start, with Mlikotin's tool interrupting the setter's serving rampage. Garza's third block of the match made it 9-5, but the Thunder cut the deficit to just two points at 12-10 after a pair of SF hits sailed long of the baseline. Rocklin then suffered four unforced errors to fall behind by a 16-11 margin, then the Troubies made it 17-11 when Smith's pickup of an Alexa Watts blast fell over the net for a rare "dig-kill" point. Zeff and Foraker teamed up on a block for a fifth Thunder attack error. Rocklin called timeout, only to have Foraker land a slide to make it 19-11.
St. Francis scored five of the final six points of the match to complete its sweep: Rowe's tool at 20-13, Zeff's back-to-back aces to make it 22-13, Mlikotin's kill from beyond the 10-foot stripe to go 23-13, and another attacking error to establish a 24-13 match point. Garza scored the final winner on her specialty: Magley placed a perfect set, which the S.F. State-bound middle blasted untouched into the Rocklin midcourt.
Tuesday's win flipped a season series that had largely gone the Thunder's way. Rocklin swept the Troubies in the season opener on August 23, thanks to Bogan's offense; then sniped a second victory in split sets at the High Sierra Invite less than two weeks later.
The victory also marked the fourth straight time St. Francis has defeated Rocklin in a mild upset during the SJS playoffs. The Troubies beat the Thunder in a No. 2-versus-1 matchup in each of the 2007 and 2009 title matches. In between, then-No. 3 St. Francis won a five-set marathon over No. 2 Rocklin during the 2008 semifinal.
Tuesday's semifinal matchup at St. Mary's represents also represents a rematch, as the Troubies swept the Rams in the second round of the 2021 section tourney. Among the differences between last year's St. Mary's team and the 2022 edition is freshman Eliana Williamson, who leads her team with a .395 hitting average and 59 total blocks (0.77 per set).4
All tickets for the CIF-SJS playoffs are sold exclusively through GoFan. A direct link to Tuesday's match will soon be available at https://gofan.co/app/school/CA8032.
