SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The St. Francis volleyball team lost to Pleasant Grove 3-1 on Thursday in the Delta League opener for both schools.

“They have a lot of fight,” said Head Coach Alynn Wright. “We are young but they are starting to play older than their years, so that is exciting.”

St. Francis (6-8, 0-1) dropped the first set 25-11 but looked poised to take the second set leading 23-21. But the Eagles rallied to take the final four points and the 2-0 advantage in the match.

“They exposed some of the things we continue to work on,” said Wright. “But I was pleased with aspects of the game – pursuits, out of system balls. But still had too many errors but we are getting there.”

The Troubadours rallied to take the third set 25-20 but failed to keep the momentum.

“We were really communicating in the third set,” said senior Abby Fitzgerald, who led the team with 14 assists to go with eight digs. “We were going after everything and putting our full hearts on the court.”

The Eagles won the fourth set 25-11 to close out the match.

“We learned we have to finish and that we need to play to win not to lose,” said Fitzgerald. “We have to come into our next match strong, be more aggressive and hopefully get our passing better,”

Freshman JJ Smith led the team with 10 kills, while junior Bailey Avery had a team-best 13 digs.

St. Francis plays host to Davis on Tuesday. The St. Francis volleyball program will have a Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Awareness Night on Tuesday, Sept. 22 in support of Troubadour Natalie Woodruff and her fight against the disease. She was diagnosed in May and began receiving treatment in July. Woodruff, who is taking the year off from school, would have been a junior on the St. Francis varsity volleyball team this fall and is looking forward to her return to the court. The St. Francis varsity team will wear lime green jerseys with Woodruff’s name on the back and will participate in a pre-game prayer.