DAVIS, Calif. – Senior middle blocker Lily Zeff knocked down 13 kills while fellow middle Amanda Silber came up with a pivotal solo stuff to cool a surging Blue Devil offense in the third, helping to forge a 25-22, 25-21, 25-21 sweep in the varsity finale of Thursday's Delta League girls' volleyball tripleheader at Davis Thursday night.
The Troubadours improve to 19-5 for the year and remain atop the league standings with a perfect 9-0 mark.
The varsity match was one of three straight-set wins by St. Francis. The Troubie frosh (22-1, 8-0) came back from early deficits in each frame to finish a 25-23, 25-20 win over the Blue Devils, then the junior varsity (27-1, 8-0) breezed to a 25-12, 25-8 sweep.
Despite the 3-0 match score, the varsity battle proved tight down the stretch of all three frames. The Troubies and Blue Devils battled to 18 ties in the first set, with Davis taking leads with each of its 18th, 19th and 20th points. Zeff and junior Gabrielle Rowe teamed up for two blocks while setter Kelsey Magley posted a solo block as part of a 5-1 SF finish to the opener.
The second and third sets each followed similar patterns: St. Francis took an early lead, Davis fought its way back into contentions, then SF finished strong to hold on to the win. In the second, the Troubies jumped to as much as an 18-12 edge after Magley's joust, only for the Blue Devils to score six unanswered in equalizing at 18-18. Silber's tip ended that run to restore the SF lead to 19-18, but Davis continued to tie up the score two more times. With the score tied at 20-20, the Troubies enjoyed a side out on a Davis serve into the net. This proved to be the start of a 5-1 finish, with Zeff scoring two kills in the final run. Natalie Sandoval, sent a four ball through the Davis block for her ninth kill and the 25th point.
In the third, St. Francis stormed to 19-7 lead, with Isabella Ramos coming off the bench to serve up three aces and score a back-row kill in a 10-0 run. Then Davis senior Tessa Schouten almost single-handedly brought her team back into the game: the 6-foot-2 middle scored four kills, teamed with Kaylie Adams on a block, and stuffed another shot on her own, as Davis battled all the way back to a 19-17 deficit. The Blue Devils continued to close the gap to just 20-19, but Lana Ezeani, Silber, Rowe, Sandoval and Zeff took turns finishing plays to protect the win and the match sweep.
Thursday marked the sixth straight 3-0 win for the Troubie varsity. Not surprisingly, Davis has the honor of being the last opponent to pick off a set against St. Francis, which it did during the September 12 visit early in the Delta League schedule.
The SF frosh had to work its way out of a 9-5 hole in the first set and a 7-3 deficit in the second. In the opener, Olivia Hurst scored four kills and served up two aces while Brynley Magley added five kills to lead that comeback. In the second, Trinity Ito had five kills, including the equalizer at 13-13 and the go-ahead at 15-14. She continued to the service line, where she helped extend the Troubie lead to 18-14.
St. Francis' jayvees made quicker work of their hosts, with Malia Fat serving up five aces and Layla Alexander and Layla Hernandez combining for nine kills at the pins. The Troubies ran their lead to as wide as 21-3 in the second, with Marissa Jensen's tool capping a 12-0 run. Alexander served up an ace for a 24-6 match point, then Jensen's tip finished the job two points later.
The junior varsity has now won nine straight matches by 2-0 scores, a run that includes last weekend's title at the Carmichael Invitational.
All three teams end a nearly month-long road swing with a Delta League series against Pleasant Grove on Tuesday. Before then, the varsity heads south to the 15th Stockton Classic tournament this Saturday.
