EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. – In a rare split-squad weekend, the St. Francis frosh volleyball program posted a total of six wins at Oak Ridge High's Christine Craft Invitational, with assistant coach and Troubadour alumna Alexa LoGiudice making her debut with a 25-12, 25-10 win over Delta League foe Pleasant Grove in the Silver Bracket championship.
This is the first of three ORHS tourneys, named in memory of the former Trojan volleyball player.
Fielding a larger frosh program than usual in 2022, McKinney divided up his into two squads, with one under his watch and the other under LoGiudice. The objective was to maximize opportunities for reps for each player, said the second-year head frosh coach.
"What we were hoping to accomplish was getting the girls as many touches as possible," McKinney said. "It lets us evaluate them in a game situation. Now we can go about the rest of our season, and see who will start and who will have which roles."
The McKinney group swept through its pool, beating Ponderosa by scores of 25-14, 25-10; then Folsom in a 25-22, 25-15 victory; followed by Whitney in straight sets, 25-15, 25-15. Meanwhile, Team LoGiudice claimed a split-set, 25-10, 21-25, 15-9 win over Nevada Union, before losing to host Oak Ridge (28-26, 25-16) and Vacaville (25-19, 25-9).
McKinney's squad advanced to the Gold bracket, only to lose to Vacaville by scores of 25-7, 25-16, in the semifinal round. In its Silver Bracket semi with Folsom, LoGiudice's group came back from a 25-18 first-set loss to win 25-16 in the second and a thrilling 17-15 battle in the third. This set the stage for the dominating sweep of Pleasant Grove.
LoGiudice, a member of SFHS's state runner-up squad in 2013, effectively became a second head coach for the day as she guided her own squad through five matches and 12 total sets of volleyball.
"It was super awesome, my first tournament for St. Francis and my first real game setting with the girls," said LoGiudice. "I got to experience the joy of winning and some losing, too. It brought me back to when I was here."
When identifying the brightest spots of the day, both McKinney and LoGiudice cited sets in which the Troubies went on to lose: the first set against Oak Ridge and the second set against Vacaville. "That's how you grow. That's where you learn. You lose, then you go to practice and work to get better," said McKinney.
Against the host Trojans, St. Francis erased a 12-8 deficit and eventually took a 20-15 lead. Makayla Miller scored on a tool and served up an ace during that run, while Emma Robinson served up two aces in a 5-0 stretch. OR rebounded to take a 24-22 double set point, but a pair of offensive miscues tied the frame at 24-24. The two squads battled to ties at 25- and 26-all before an Oak Ridge free ball managed to nose over the tape and into Troubie court. A hitting error then sealed the 28-26 win for the Trojans.
"We gave Oak Ridge a run for their money," said LoGiudice. "We were neck and neck with them, we were super scrappy and had great tenacity."
McKinney's highlight came in the Gold Bracket loss to the powerful Bulldogs. After Vacaville's serving and net game ran away to a 25-7 win, then continued to craft a 5-0 start in the second set, the Troubies bounced back behind the serving of Layla Werner to a 9-8 lead. The Bulldogs transitioned back to serve and scored nine more unanswered, but the two teams largely battled evenly down the stretch.
"Just the fact that they fought really bonded both teams," McKinney said. "Now we have to get all 18 of them together."
The serving game proved pivotal for both teams throughout the day, with several Troubies enjoying long runs from the line. Gigi Dickerson notched six aces in a stretch of eight points in the second set against Pondo. Robinson also had four straight aces to start the second set against Nevada Union before her outburst against Oak Ridge. The most impressive serving performance may have belonged to libero Lucia Hash, who tallied eight straight aces as part of an 11-0 stretch in the opener with Whitney.
On the other hand, Vacaville's serving game largely stifled St. Francis in each matchup, while St. Francis surrendered points throughout the day due to service errors, according to the two coaches. "Ball control is huge at this level, and I'm sure Alexa will say the same," said McKinney. "At times, we did great, and at times, we struggled."
All three St. Francis teams host Rocklin for the 2022 home opener on Tuesday. Match times are 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30 at the St. Francis gymnasium.
