EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. – St. Francis frosh volleyball went 4-0, including a split-set win over Marin Catholic in the final, to capture the team championship at the 15th-annual Stockton Classic Freshman Tournament Saturday.
Meanwhile, some 60 miles away in El Dorado Hills, the Troubadour junior varsity claimed a 25-14, 25-20 sweep of host Oak Ridge in the Christine Craft Memorial JV Tournament title match.
Both St. Francis sub-varsity teams remain undefeated for the year: the JV improves to 13-0, while the frosh moves to 12-0.
The Troubie jayvees swept all five matches they played, rolling through Granite Bay (25-8, 25-10), Pleasant Valley (25-16, 25-11) and Del Oro (25-20, 25-16) in the round-robin portion of the tourney. The ultimately earned a bye in the bracket portion, then whipped Ponderosa in the semifinal before squaring off with the host Trojans for the tourney championship.
St. Francis fell into an early 4-1 hole before recovering with seven straight points to take an 8-4 lead. Oddly, the Troubies did not score a kill until their fifth point, when Alexander knocked down a kill on a four ball to give her team the lead. Before then, all SF points had come from OR miscues: three hitting errors and a ball-handling error. The Troubies never trailed for the remainder, although the Trojans did manage to pull within an 18-14 margin. A serve gone long put Johnson to the service line with a 19-14 lead. She served out the set for six additional points, serving up one ace and having another replayed. Junior Jessica Dillie landed a kill and teamed with Copeland Williams on a block in that final span.
The second frame had an opposite start, with St. Francis taking an early 5-2 lead before allowing Oak Ridge to within an 8-7 deficit. Alexander's tool by the right pin gave the Troubies the side out and ignited a run of three straight points to 12-7. Another long stay by Johnson at the service line extended the lead to 20-11, although the Trojans briefly fought back to four-point deficits of 22-18, 23-19 and 24-20. But Alexander had kills on either side of the net, including one well off the tape, keeping SF in front. Finally, it was a different Layla – freshman Layla Hernandez – who finished the job with her successful tip.
The Troubie varsity was idle on Saturday, although several members of the team came out to Trojan Arena to support the JV squad. All three teams are back in action for more Delta League play on Tuesday, with a road tripleheader at Elk Grove.
ST. FRANCIS AT CHRISTINE CRAFT MEMORIAL JV TOURNAMENT
Oak Ridge High School (El Dorado Hills, Calif.)
St. Francis 2, Granite Bay 0 (25-8, 25-10)
St. Francis 2, Pleasant Valley 0 (25-16, 25-11)
St. Francis 2, Del Oro 0 (25-20, 25-16)
St. Francis 2, Ponderosa 0 (25-9, 25-18)
St. Francis 2, Oak Ridge 0 (25-14, 25-20)
ST. FRANCIS AT 15TH STOCKTON CLASSIC FRESHMAN TOURNAMENT
Bear Creek High School (Stockton, Calif.)
St. Francis 2, Monte Vista 0 (25-17, 25-16)
St. Francis 2, Bear Creek 0 (25-8, 25-9)
St. Francis 2, Oak Ridge 0 (25-6, 25-10)
St. Francis 2, Marin Catholic 1 (25-16, 25-27, 15-7)
