STOCKTON, Calif. – St. Francis posted straight-set victories against California and Heritage, beat Ripon in split sets in bracket play, then fell in three sets, 26-24, 23-25, 15-6, to Amador Valley to finish second at the Tokay site of the 16th Stockton Classic varsity girls' volleyball tournament Saturday.
The Troubadours improve to 19-9 for the season going into the final two weeks of the regular season.
St. Francis swept California by scores of 25-14, 27-25; followed by a 25-22, 25-13 win over Heritage to advance to the site's championship bracket. Then the Troubies came back on Ripon for a 22-25, 25-22, 16-14 thriller in the semifinal to earn the opportunity to face the North Coast Section perennial contenders.
Sophomore Sophia Palmeri enjoyed the two most impressive offensive performances of the day, hitting 9-1-20 (.400) in the late-morning match against the Patriots, then followed with a career-high 19 kills in the semifinal win over the Patriots. She matched the 19 kills set against Granite Bay on September 16, although that total came in five sets compared to the three against Ripon. Senior Gabrielle Rowe notched five blocks to open the day against the Grizzlies, then later followed up with four versus Ripon.
Setter Nika Jafari ended up as the Troubies' leading scorer in the title match with the Dons: she totaled seven aces from the service line. Jafari also finished the day as SF's leading setter with 53 assists. Among her targets was junior Marissa Jensen, who enjoyed one of her best attacking days of her career in terms of efficiency: 8-for-13 without an error for a .615 clip. Jensen also took part in two of the eight blocks against Cal.
The varsity visit to the 209 area code marks the third and final St. Francis team to compete at the Stockton Classic in 2024. The Troubie frosh won their site back on September 14, while JV placed third one week later. All three squads return to Sierra Foothill League play on Monday at Folsom. Match times are 5:30 (varsity and frosh) and 6:30 p.m. (varsity).
