SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior libero Jacqueline Smith posted team highs of 20 digs and six aces, Veronica Datwyler posted a double-double of 13 kills and 15 digs, while Lily Zeff added another 13 kills plus a pair of blocks, but St. Francis varsity volleyball could not protect an early 2-0 match lead, ultimately losing in five sets to Folsom by scores 15-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18 and 15-10 on Wednesday night.

The Troubadours enter their Delta League opener with a 5-4 mark, with two of the setbacks coming to the Bulldogs – one on Wednesday, and one previously at the Bulldog Bash tournament 11 days earlier.

St. Francis' junior varsity and frosh squads each swept Folsom in their respectively matches earlier in the evening. The frosh served up 10 aces in the opener, winning by scores of 25-19 and 25-10. The jayvees followed with a 25-15, 25-13 victory.

Zeff and Datwyler were the lone Troubies with double-digit offense, but Sydney Chow posted a career-high 15 digs while Magley scooped up another 11 to give SF four players with double figures on floor defense. Magley also had three aces, while her 35 assists helped the Troubies hit .183 overall. In fact, the varsity had 13 overall aces, with Mana Jafari (2), Ellie Carpenter and Chow (1) producing from the service line. However, only three of that baker's dozen came in the fourth and fifth sets.

Zeff had four kills and both of her blocks in the opening frame, helping St. Francis recover from an initial 7-2 hole to claim the win. Folsom junior Lindsey Olsen managed to equalize at 15-15, but the Troubies responded with 10 straight as part of a larger 13-1 finish. Zeff hit two kills and teamed with Hailey Sutton on a block, with Smith serving up three aces in that final stretch. 

Zeff continued to lead offensively in the second, notching four kills in a span of six points to boost SF to a 12-6 start. Bulldog sophomore libero Khloe Wong served her team back to within a 12-11 deficit, but the Troubies countered with four straight to take a 16-11 lead. They maintained at least a three-point edge, with Datwyler and Zeff finding open spots on offspeed shots, culminating in a 25-21 set win and a 2-0 match lead.

In response, Folsom came out strong in the third, claiming four straight out of the gates in crafting a 12-5 advantage. Again, SF had an answer, with Sophia Van Ness and Magley finding kills to pull their team back to within 12-10. St. Francis finally regained the lead, when Smith's ace tied the proceedings at 18-18, then an overzealous serve reception went straight to a waiting Zeff at the center of the tape. Zeff turned back another stray free ball two points later for a 20-19 Troubie lead, then a Folsom set sailed too wide to make it 21-19 for SF. But instead of taking the sweep, Folsom countered with six of the next seven points. Olsen notched two kills in that outburst, including the set-winner.

The Bulldogs continued their momentum into the fourth and fifth frames, getting all manner of points from setter Kelly Wong. The older of the two sisters teamed with Addie Kannegeisser for a block to start the fourth, earned an ace to extend the lead to 5-1, then knocked over three kills for the remainder of that set. SF closed the gap to 15-13, thanks to a ball-handling error and a serving error on the other side of the net, but Kelly Wong and Grace Poort helped Folsom pull away to force the deciding fifth.

Magley and Chow each served up aces for the Troubies in the fifth while Datwyler had a pair of kills, but the Bulldogs ultimately broke away during a brief serving run by Olsen. Kannegeisser put away a one ball for the set- and match-winner, completing the comeback bid.

The varsity loss followed the straight-set wins from each of the Troubie frosh and JV teams. St. Francis opened with seven unanswered to kick off the frosh match, with Ady Davis serving up five aces. Gilly Glikman helped extend the lead to 10-2 with a block and a kill. Folsom eventually pulled to a one-point deficit at 17-16 and 18-17, but Glikman's roll shot from the right side and Addison Adams' kill from the left side bookended a 6-0 run to 23-18. Then in the second, Olivia Hurst and Trinity Ito each hit three kills as the Troubie freshes dominated their way to a 25-10 win and a 2-0 sweep.

Similarly, the St. Francis JV nearly went wire-to-wire in beating the Bulldogs by scores of 15 and 13. Sophomore Chloe Johnson was the heavy hitter in the first set, landing six kills in the first 19 points. Gigi Dickerson served back-to-back aces and Layla Alexander put away two kills, including one for a 24-15 set point. Then in the second, it was Lili Haddad's turn to lead the attack, also totaling six kills. Three of those points highlighted a 14-2 overall run that turned a minor 8-7 deficit into a dominating 21-10 advantage for the Troubies.

Middle blockers Mercy Collier and Copeland Williams also contributed offense in each frame, while Makayla Miller's serving resulted in two aces and ignited the second-set run for the Troubies.

Each of the St. Francis sub-varsity teams remain undefeated at 5-0. All three teams will begin Delta League play at home against Franklin on Tuesday. Matches start at the league-standard 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30 times.