SF takes on Bay Area staples at Bishop O'Dowd tourney

Posted: Sep 21, 2024

OAKLAND, Calif. – Senior Layla Alexander hit a combined 32 kills for the day, sophomore Sophia Palmeri finished with a .415 hitting average in eight sets, while senior setter Nika Jafari totaled 47 assists and eight aces, as St. Francis posted a 3-1 record at Bishop O'Dowd's Dragon Girls' Volleyball Tournament Saturday.

The Troubadours improve to 14-6 for the season.

St. Francis swept Moreau Catholic with matching scores of 25-17, 25-17; then breezed past Berkeley in similar fashion at 25-18, 25-15. The Troubies then beat California in straight sets, 25-19, 25-22; only to fall to James Logan in the first round of bracket play by scores of 25-18, 25-22.

Alexander rated as the team's kills leader in each of the four matches, including a 12-kill performance against the Yellowjackets, followed by an 8-1-13 line against the Grizzlies in the round-robin finale. In comparison, Alexander entered the day with 69 kills in 30 sets, with a .169 average. She finished with a 32-13-73 chart for a .260 clip in the four matches and eight sets Saturday.

Meanwhile, Palmeri committed just one attack error on 53 swings during the tourney: 5-1-13 against Moreau, 7-0-10 against Berkeley, 6-0-11 against California, then 5-0-19 with seven digs against Logan.

As the results might suggest, James Logan holds the strongest credentials of St. Francis' four opponents: an 11-1 record this year, a 34-5 mark and a North Coast Section Div. I quarterfinal berth last season, plus an NCS title in 2018. Coincidentially, California and Berkeley faced each other in the NCS D-I tourney last year, with the Grizzlies protecting their No. 7 seed with a 3-0 sweep.

Sophomore Gilly Glikman enjoyed a productive overall day on offese, totaling 14 kills and 36 attempts in the three round-robin matches. She joined Alexander and Palmeri in helping the Troubies to two wins with better than .300 hitting: .328 (29-8-64) against Berkeley, .333 (23-6-51) against Cal.

St. Francis reunites with its junior varsity and frosh sisters in its return to action on Monday, for a Sierra Foothill League road match at Del Oro. Start times are 4:30 (frosh), 5:30 (JV) and 6:30 (varsity).