ROCKLIN, Calif. – Senior libero Jacqueline Smith tallied 20 of her team's 62 total digs while opposite Caroline Foraker led offensively with 16 kills, but St. Francis saw late leads wither into losses in each of three sets in a 25-23, 27-25, 25-23 loss to Rocklin in the varsity nightcap of a non-league girls' prep volleyball tripleheader Tuesday.
The Troubadours move to 3-2 for the season.
The younger SF squads enjoyed season-opening victories leading up to the varsity match, with the Troubie frosh rolling to a 25-8, 25-11 win and the junior varsity claiming a split-set, 25-16, 24-26, 15-11 triumph in the auxiliary gym.
However, the SF varsity led as late as 22-18 in the first set before surrendering seven of the next eight points. In the second set, the Troubies stormed to a 16-7 lead, with Foraker serving up two of her four total aces as part of a 10-1 run. St. Francis clung to a 16-13 lead later in the frame, then fell behind by deficit of 22-20 before Smith aided in the 23-23 equalizer in a manner that does not register on the stat sheet. She covered what appeared to be a solo block by the Thunder's 6-2 middle Rylee Heinz, popping the free ball over the net to prevent the point. The stunned Rocklin offense haphazardly returned the ball into the antenna, turning what should have been a 24-22 set point into a 23-23 tie.
The Troubies eventually took a set point of their own when Kelsey Magley and Isabella Ramos teamed up on a block along the right side, making it 25-24. But Rocklin enjoyed key kills from a pair of 10th graders, Devon Schweitzer and Addy Scheitlin, while a SF attack sailed just long of the court, putting the hosts up by a 2-0 match score.
St. Francis led for almost the entirety of the third, with Foraker notching three kills and Veronica Datwyler serving back-to-back aces as part of an 8-2 start. Datwyler, usually a serving specialist and back row player, later knocked down a kill on a four ball to lift the Troubies to a 20-17 lead. Rocklin again rallied back to a 20-20 tie before Natalie Sandoval's roll shot found some empty court to provide a 21-20 SF edge. But Heinz equalized from the middle for the side out, sophomore Gianna Bogan posted her seventh kill of the finale to put the Thunder back up, 22-21, then a Scheitlin ace doubled the advantage to two. Rocklin held the lead for the remainder in finishing the sweep.
The Thunder's 3-0 win comes almost exactly one year after doing the same at St. Francis. The Troubies later avenged the preseason setback with a 3-0 shutout in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs last October.
St. Francis JV opened with a 25-16 win in the first set and led by a 14-10 margin in the second before allowing Rocklin to rattle off six unanswered in taking a 16-14 advantage. The Thunder held a 24-20 quadruple set point before junior Copeland Williams helped the Troubies scrape back to a 24-24 tie. She scored a kill for the 21st point, then after a Katie Kramer ace cut the lead to two, she posted two stuffs at the net in knotting the frame at 24-all. Unfortunately for SF, Rocklin secured a side out on an offspeed shot, then served up the ace for the winner.
In the rubber set, both teams battled closely, with Rocklin even taking an 8-7 edge midway through. Still, Layla Alexander came off the bench for a pair of kills and Gigi Dickerson served an ace in a 5-1 stretch to lift SF back to a 12-9 lead. The Thunder struggled to an unforced error on the attack plus two serving miscues before Troubie freshman Sophia Palmeri hammered home the winner for 15-11.
Tuesday's action kicks off a nine-day, five-match preseason slate for all three St. Francis teams. The Troubies head to Oak Ridge on Thursday night, then return home to host Christian Brothers for the Holy Court rivalry match on Saturday. SF stays on its home court for matches against McClatchy (Aug. 29) and Folsom (Aug. 30) next week.
