SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior libero Jacqueline Smith scooped up a team-leading 24 digs while opposite Caroline Foraker and middle blocker Sophia Garza combined for 23 kills against just four hitting errors, but fifth-seeded St. Francis could not complete its comeback from a 2-0 match deficit against second-seeded Oak Ridge, falling in four sets to the Trojans in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title match Saturday night.
The Troubadours move to 23-8 for the year. They now await their fate in the CIF NorCal Regional, which could begin either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on which bracket the team is assigned. This was also their 21st trip to the section championship final, and the eighth turn in the Division I title match.
Foraker posted a double-double of 12 kills and 12 digs, while taking part in five total blocks – one solo and four assists. Garza had 11 kills on 18 swings for a .500 average, and teamed up on three blocks, two with Foraker and one with outside hitter Charlise Rowe. Meanwhile, Smith's dig total followed the career-high 34 she posted in Tuesday's semifinal upset at No. 1 seed St. Mary's.
St. Francis led early in each of the first two sets. Setter Kelsey Magley and middle blocker Lily Zeff, the latter of whom previously played for ORHS, combined for a block to spark an 11-6 lead in the opener. The Troubies stayed ahead of or even with the Trojans until junior Elle Weaver landed an ace to give Oak Ridge a 16-15 edge. The two teams locked up for ties four more times after that, but the Trojans never relinquished. Weaver and senior Emily Child each scored two kills down the stretch, then Kylie Gaunt sent a cross-court shot from the right pin for the game-winner.
In similar fashion to the first set, the Troubies crafted a 12-8 lead in the second, with a Smith ace making it a four-point advantage. Oak Ridge stormed back with four unanswered, including back-to-back aces from sophomore Avery Towne. Kate Fagundes, who also scored on a tool during that run, lifted the Trojans to a 15-14 lead when her serve was passed into a relative no-man's land on the Troubie side of the net. That ace began a 6-1 run for Oak Ridge, which protected at least a two-point lead the rest of the way.
Facing the two-set hole in the match, St. Francis again came out strong in the third, this time taking a 10-5 lead. Foraker pounded out a kill from the back row, Sofia Alkire served up an ace, and Garza won a joust at the center of the tape to establish that lead. The Troubies continued to lead, moving ahead by as much as 19-14 on a Garza kill and a couple of attacking errors from Oak Ridge's Madison Walker. The Trojans managed to rally back to a 20-20 tie, the first knotted score since 3-3 in the frame, with Walker scoring two kills and Olivia Hicks and Kali Larson serving up aces in a 6-1 stretch. St. Francis scored four of the final five points, with Olivia Mlikotin, Zeff and Foraker providing the terminating shots.
The Troubies worked their way out of a 4-1 hole in the fourth, taking their first lead at 6-5 on a left-side block by Garza and Rowe. Garza smashed a one set to make it 7-5, but Oak Ridge came back to claim an 8-7 lead on McKenzie Dauden's kill on the right side. This established a pattern for the fourth set, which ultimately featured 14 ties and seven lead changes. Garza teamed with Foraker on a block at 17-16, then later had back-to-back kills to make it 19-18. St. Francis held its final lead of 20-19 when reserve Jessica Ortiz served long. The Trojans called a timeout, then came out by claiming six of the final seven points of the match. Four different Oak Ridge players scored kills in that final surge, with Child finding a hole in the Troubie defense for the match-winner.
Saturday's win marked Oak Ridge's seventh overall section title, including four in the Division I draw. It also represented the third time in the past four tournaments that the Troubies and Trojans ended up in the title match.
The NorCal and SoCal regionals run from November 8-15, always at host schools, then the winners from each half of the state will square off for the state championship on either November 18 (Division I) or 19 (Open Division) at Santiago Canyon College. St. Francis has twice made the state title match, and won it in 2005. Current Troubie assistant varsity coach and head JV coach Taryn Campbell, then Taryn Wright, was the setter on that state-champion team and even set a finals record of 12 aces against Rim of the World High School during her team's 3-0 sweep at Saddleback College.
