Posted: Sep 09, 2023
MERCED, Calif. – Senior setter Kelsey Magley and senior middle blocker Lily Zeff each earned all-tournament as St. Francis advanced to the Gold bracket title match of the Central California Classic girls' prep volleyball tournament at Golden Valley High Saturday.
Following a 3-0 finish on Friday, the Troubadours beat Hughson in straight sets (25-12, 25-19) and Stockdale in three (23-25, 25-19, 15-6) to advance to the Gold bracket. They then swept Clovis East by a 25-17, 25-14 final before falling to Pitman by scores of 21 and 18.
Zeff total 42 kills toward a .410 hitting average in St. Francis' seven matches during the tournament, while Magley tallied 134 assists and 19 aces in the 15 total games over the course of the weekend. Additionally, the Troubies hit .213 for the weekend, including .310 against Enochs on Friday and .283 against Hughson to open Day 2.
The Central California Classic consists of 24 teams from throughout Northern and Central California, with Saturday's action split between Golden Valley and Merced.
St. Francis varsity reunites with its junior varsity and frosh sisters on Tuesday for a Delta League tripleheader against Davis. That match also serves as the annual PAL Night, in which students from the Parochial Athletic League-member schools are admitted free and invited to a postmatch autograph session with the varsity Troubies.
ST. FRANCIS 2, HUGHSON 0 (25-12, 25-19)
The Troubie middle supplied the majority of the offense, combining for 12 kills and just one error on 17 swings, leading to a quick sweep of the Huskies to start the day. Zeff led all SF players with 9-1-13 hitting (.615), while Amanda Silber chipped in a 3-0-4 chart. Magley also served up three aces, matching defensive specialist Ellie Carpenter in that department.
ST. FRANCIS 2, STOCKDALE 1 (23-25, 25-19, 15-6)
St. Francis overcame a first-set loss to cruise to a 15-6 win in the rubber set. The Troubies enjoyed strong individual performances from Zeff, who hit 11 kills with two errors for a .500 clip, libero Jackie Smith, who led her team with 11 digs; and opposite Gabrielle Rowe, who offset some hitting struggles with a whopping five solo stuffs. Carpenter and Veronica Datwyler each finished with three aces.
ST. FRANCIS 2, CLOVIS EAST 0 (25-17, 25-14)
The left-side attack of Natalie Sandoval and Sophia Van Ness hit matching 7-2-19 offensive charts to lead the Troubies to a sweep over the Timberwolves in the tournament's Gold semifinal round. Magley, who hit 3-for-4 with a pair of blocks in her own right, posted 17 assists in engineering her team to a solid .231 success rate. Smith led with 10 of SF's 37 digs in the victory.
PITMAN 2, ST. FRANCIS 0 (25-21, 25-18)
Van Ness led St. Francis in both kills (9) and total attempts (28) on offense, while Smith paced the floor defense with 13 digs in the tournament title match. However, the offense struggled to a .115 average, its lowest since an .048 in the August 22 road loss at Rocklin. Saturday's title match was the first meeting with Pitman in almost five full years. The Pride, which lost to Oak Ridge in last year's Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I semifinal, improve to 15-2 this season.
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Following a 3-0 finish on Friday, the Troubadours beat Hughson in straight sets (25-12, 25-19) and Stockdale in three (23-25, 25-19, 15-6) to advance to the Gold bracket. They then swept Clovis East by a 25-17, 25-14 final before falling to Pitman by scores of 21 and 18.
Zeff total 42 kills toward a .410 hitting average in St. Francis' seven matches during the tournament, while Magley tallied 134 assists and 19 aces in the 15 total games over the course of the weekend. Additionally, the Troubies hit .213 for the weekend, including .310 against Enochs on Friday and .283 against Hughson to open Day 2.
The Central California Classic consists of 24 teams from throughout Northern and Central California, with Saturday's action split between Golden Valley and Merced.
St. Francis varsity reunites with its junior varsity and frosh sisters on Tuesday for a Delta League tripleheader against Davis. That match also serves as the annual PAL Night, in which students from the Parochial Athletic League-member schools are admitted free and invited to a postmatch autograph session with the varsity Troubies.
ST. FRANCIS 2, HUGHSON 0 (25-12, 25-19)
The Troubie middle supplied the majority of the offense, combining for 12 kills and just one error on 17 swings, leading to a quick sweep of the Huskies to start the day. Zeff led all SF players with 9-1-13 hitting (.615), while Amanda Silber chipped in a 3-0-4 chart. Magley also served up three aces, matching defensive specialist Ellie Carpenter in that department.
ST. FRANCIS 2, STOCKDALE 1 (23-25, 25-19, 15-6)
St. Francis overcame a first-set loss to cruise to a 15-6 win in the rubber set. The Troubies enjoyed strong individual performances from Zeff, who hit 11 kills with two errors for a .500 clip, libero Jackie Smith, who led her team with 11 digs; and opposite Gabrielle Rowe, who offset some hitting struggles with a whopping five solo stuffs. Carpenter and Veronica Datwyler each finished with three aces.
ST. FRANCIS 2, CLOVIS EAST 0 (25-17, 25-14)
The left-side attack of Natalie Sandoval and Sophia Van Ness hit matching 7-2-19 offensive charts to lead the Troubies to a sweep over the Timberwolves in the tournament's Gold semifinal round. Magley, who hit 3-for-4 with a pair of blocks in her own right, posted 17 assists in engineering her team to a solid .231 success rate. Smith led with 10 of SF's 37 digs in the victory.
PITMAN 2, ST. FRANCIS 0 (25-21, 25-18)
Van Ness led St. Francis in both kills (9) and total attempts (28) on offense, while Smith paced the floor defense with 13 digs in the tournament title match. However, the offense struggled to a .115 average, its lowest since an .048 in the August 22 road loss at Rocklin. Saturday's title match was the first meeting with Pitman in almost five full years. The Pride, which lost to Oak Ridge in last year's Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I semifinal, improve to 15-2 this season.
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