SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Opposite Caroline Foraker hit a team-high nine kills but St. Francis varsity hit just .094 in a straight-set, 25-19, 25-17, 25-23 loss to Oak Ridge to close a non-league home girls' volleyball tripleheader Thursday night. This followed the Troubadour frosh squad's 25-20, 21-25, 17-15 thriller over the Trojans and the St. Francis junior varsity's 25-23, 25-12 victory in the lead-in action.
The matchup featured two of the top teams in the Sacramento area, according to Monday's Tracy Toyota 49ers Sac-Hi Sports Top 10. Oak Ridge leads the section ahead of No. 2 Whitney and No. 3 Rocklin, while St. Francis moved up to No. 5 after the previous week's road win at Granite Bay.
Overall, the Troubies had 28 kills but 18 attack errors en route to the .094 clip. Setter Kelsey Magley and outside hitter Olivia Mlikotin each served up two of the team's eight aces, while providing double-digit totals in digs at 13 and 10, respectively.
Still, Oak Ridge pulled away from a 14-14 tie in the first set to take the 25-19 win, getting two kills in a 4-0 run from junior left-sider Elle Weaver. Then senior Madison Walker scored a pair of soft-touch kills early in the second as part of an 8-1 Trojan run to craft a 17-8 lead. Mlikotin had both aces in a four-point comeback effort that closed the gap to 22-16, but kills from Walker and Alyssa Anderson brought the frame to a 24-17 set point, then Leilani Yang served up an ace for the winner, giving ORHS a 2-0 match lead.
St. Francis gritted out a strong effort in the third, holding as much as a four-point lead after Mlikotin and Amanda Silber combined for back-to-back blocks, then Foraker scored kills on a 4, a 5 and a slide to make it 17-13. Oak Ridge stormed back to a 22-19 lead when Kylie Gaunt served up an ace, capping a run of four unanswered. Charlise Rowe put down a couple of kills to keep the Troubies in the hunt, including an off-balance tip that managed to find some open court at 23-24. But the Trojans converted that final side out to complete the sweep.
The SF varsity moves to 7-4 for the year heading into the resumption of Delta League play.
The Troubie frosh went extended points in the rubber set to claim its 2-1 lead in Thursday's opener. Mercy Collier enjoyed some timely kills in the middle and final portions of the 25-20 Set 1, but Oak Ridge overcame a 20-17 deficit to claim the second stanza. Kylie Orman had back-to-back aces and Madelyn Snyder posted a solo block and a well-placed tip for the 24th and 25th points of the equalizer.
Oak Ridge appeared prime to take the third -set win, holding a 12-7 lead after a Troubie net violation. St. Francis scored six straight to erase that hole, with Collier's kill in the middle, Makayla Miller's ace, a block by Collier and Danielle Payant, and a Kiera McManus missile providing the highlights. Outside hitter Justine Stegall provided kills for match points of 15-14 and 16-15 before an errant set on the Trojan side provided the finish.
After the frosh dramatics, the Troubie JV stormed to a 9-1 start to its match, getting two kills each from pin hitters Natalie Sandoval and Jessica Dillie in that opening surge. But ORHS fought all the way back to a 14-11 lead, only to suffer some unforced errors that allowed its hosts back to a 15-14 edge. The Trojans regained the advantage at 23-21 before Dillie's kill by the right pin and Lola Quintanar's ace made it 23-23. A down ball that sailed wide gave St. Francis a 24-23 set point, then Sydney Chow's step-out tool on the right side put up the 25th point.
The Troubies finished the best-of-three match in easier fashion in the second set. Outside hitter Layla Alexander propelled her team to a 6-1 start. Quintanar's ace and a block by Chow and Copeland Williams made it 15-3, then Sandoval's tool extended the lead to 16-3. Down the stretch, it was middle blocker Isabelle Ramos' turn: her putback of a stray free ball set the board at 22-12 while her ace established a 24-12 match point. Oak Ridge sailed a shot long for the Troubies' game-winner.
For the St. Francis JV, it avenged the lone loss of the year thus far: a 2-1 setback in Oak Ridge's Christine Craft Memorial tournament just five days earlier. The Troubie jayvees improve to 8-1 overall. The frosh squad also got redemption, with half of a split-squad team losing to ORHS at the first Craft tourney in late August. The SFHS freshmen move to 10-3 for the year.
All three St. Francis teams return to action for a Delta League tilt at Davis on Tuesday. Match times are 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30.
