SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior libero Jackie Smith scooped up 19 digs while junior opposite Caroline Foraker tallied team highs of eight kills and four aces, but St. Francis found itself on the losing end of a 25-21, 26-24, 25-18 sweep of Rocklin in its varsity volleyball season opener at the SFHS Gym Tuesday night.
The Troubadours open at 0-1 for the season.
Meanwhile, the St. Francis sub-varsity squads each prevailed earlier in the tripleheader. The Troubie frosh rolled past the Thunder by scores of 25-14, 25-9, while the junior varsity outlasted its guests in split sets, winning 25-7, 23-25, 15-12.
Another junior, setter Kelsey Magley, posted 14 assists and 14 digs on the final stat sheet, but as a team, St. Francis committed 16 attacking errors against just 25 kills for a .079 hitting average. The Troubies battled the Thunder to a 10-10 tie before surrendering 10 of the next 12 points to fall into a 20-12 hole. Freshman Gianna Bogan tallied a two blocks and a kill in that run. Smith's long trip to the service stripe helped SFHS pull back to within a three-point, 22-19 deficit, but Rocklin shut the door: freshman Rylee Heinz' tool scored a key side out at 23-19, then Maddie Papia served up an ace for set point at 24-19. Senior Alexa Watts landed a tip onto the SF hardwood for the winner.
The Troubies came out strong in the second with a 5-1 run before Rocklin stormed back to claim a 10-9 lead, thanks in part to two kills and a block from Thunder senior McKenna Williams. Senior Charlise Rowe scored from the left pin to complete a comeback run back to a 13-11 St. Francis lead, and a block from 5-foot-5 DS Maddison Sundermeier (combined with middle blocker Sophia Garza) kept that margin at 15-13. Yet again, Rocklin had a response, with Bogan leading a 7-1 run to take a 20-16 lead. Addy Scheitlin helped the Thunder hold a four-point edge with her block assist and kill to make it 22-18.
Facing that four-point deficit, an undeterred Foraker enjoyed one of her most dominating spans of the match. She notched a solo block and three aces to bring St. Francis all the way back to a 23-23 tie. Papia responded with a timely ace along the right edge to put RHS up by 24-23, but Rowe's roll shot was touched on the way down to tie the score at 24-24. For the second straight set, Watts – the daughter of former St. Francis basketball star Tina Galaxidas ('90) – came up with the winners, boosting the Thunder to a 2-0 match lead.
Rocklin carried the momentum into a more decisive third set, with the freshman Bogan tallying six kills and a solo stuff in the frame. Her cross-court shot gave the Thunder a 24-15 match point. Foraker's slide attack, a ball-handling error and a backrow block violation (against Garza's putback) gave the Troubies a brief stay, but nine match points proved too much.
The serving game carried the SF frosh and JV teams to their wins earlier in the evening. Colleen Medina notched six straight aces in a 16-5 start for the younger squad, then Lucia Hash served up 11 straight points in a 13-1 opening run in the second.
In the JV opening set, sophomore outside hitter Layla Alexander served up six aces while DS Sadie Westphal picked up a pair of highlight-reel digs to lead the charge. Alexander provided a pair of blocks to help St. Francis recover from a 17-11 deficit and middle Isabella Ramos tooled the Thunder block in the middle to make it 23-22, but Rocklin scored the final three points to tie the match. Another Troubie middle, Copeland Williams, came up with a timely offspeed kill to boost her team to a 9-7 lead, then she scored the final two points: teaming with Ramos for another stuff block and knocking down a one for the 15-12 winner.
All three teams return to action for a road match at Granite Bay in one week, August 30. The frosh and JV play concurrently starting at 5:30, then the Troubie varsity takes on the Grizzlies at 6:30.
