Volleyball Upsets Del Oro, Advances to Semis and Earns NorCal Berth

News

LOOMIS, Calif. – The St. Francis volleyball team lost in the section quarterfinals a year ago, ending their season uncharacteristically outside of the NorCals. Not this year. The fifth-seeded Troubadours upset the No. 4 seed Del Oro in three sets 25-19, 25-12, 25-12 on the road Thursday. The win puts SF into the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals and earns the team a berth in the NorCals a week later.

“It feels really good and everyone did their part,” said senior captain Claire Barbe. “We came here to win and we did that. Everyone is really determined to do the best this year.”

Barbe, who is from Loomis, played a home game of sorts in her hometown, helping the team with nine kills and four digs.

“It was fun to play against my long-lost friends,” said Barbe. “It was fun to reconnect.”

St. Francis jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first set, erasing any pre-game jitters and building their confidence for the tough road match.

“It set a good tone but we kinda whittled it away and let it go which was unfortunate,” said Head Coach Wright of the early lead. “Once we settled down again we controlled the match.”

Del Oro (23-9) eventually tied the set at 10 each before St. Francis took control of the set and eventually the match.

“The defense was totally there and the offense was there,” said junior Madelyn Schildmeyer.  “It was awesome because we came together as a team and did really well. We adjusted really well.”

Schildmeyer recorded 29 assists and had 14 digs in the contest, recording a team-best 14 points on her serve.

“We were serving tough and playing scrappy defense and that is what wins,” said Wright. “Offensively every kid came through and did well. If you look at the stats, I bet the hitting percentage is pretty high. I attribute that to Maddy. She did a good job isolating kids and putting them one-on-one. Our defense looked really good tonight.”

St. Francis (27-14) hit 30.1 percent for the game led by junior Aiyu Aimufua who had eight kills and no errors. Freshman Alexa Edwards and senior Claire Schutz recorded a team-best 11 kills each.

St. Francis will play top seed Whitney, a 3-0 winner over St. Mary’s, next Tuesday. No. 2 seed Rocklin and No. 3 seed Elk Grove each advanced in the Division II bracket.

“We played right with them at Super 8,” said Wright of Whitney. “I think if we play like this we will be a tough match.”

DIVISION II
Quarterfinals/Thursday
Whitney 3, St. Mary’s 0
St. Francis 3, Del Oro 0
Elk Grove 3, Granite Bay 2
Rocklin 3, Roseville 0
Semifinals/Tuesday
#5 St. Francis at #1 Whitney
#3 Elk Grove at #2 Rocklin