McCLELLAN, Calif. – St. Francis came from behind in each set to sweep Rio Americano by matching scores of 25-21, 25-21, in the title match of the Carmichael Invitational Volleyball Tournament, held at the Capital Sports Center Saturday.

The varsity championship took place hours after the Troubadours' frosh team finished second at the 17th Stockton Classic. The ninth graders beat Amador Valley, host Lodi, and St. Mary's in straight sets before falling, 25-19,25-16, against Saint Francis (Mountain View).

The Troubie varsity stumbled out of the gates with a 26-24 loss to River Valley in the first set of the day, but won the next two handily, 25-15 and 15-6. This began a run of nine straight sets won, including sweeps of Weston Ranch (12 and 9), Pleasant Valley (18 and 23) and Nevada Union (14 and 23), plus the 25-12 first set against Vacaville in the tourney semifinal. The Bulldogs pulled away to a 25-15 win in the second set, but SF scored four of the last five points in a 15-11 range.

Junior opposite Gilly Glikman led SF offensively with 46 kills and a .370 average across the six matches, including errorless performances against Pleasant Valley (5-for-11) and Nevada Union (12-for-18). Outside hitter Sophia Palmeri added 32 kills with just seven errors for a .373 success rate, while fellow left-sider Hailey Sutton totaled 34 kills and 34 digs for the day. Only libero Malia Fat amassed more floor defense, recording 50 overall kills, including 16 against Vacaville.

St. Francis recovered from late deficits in each set of the championship match against the Raiders. Rio took a 17-14 lead after a rare dig-kill by senior Kate Ellis, but then suffered four unforced errors in a 5-0 run that put the Troubies back on top, 19-17. SF never trailed for the remainder of the first, although Kwynn Carrillo managed to tie everything up at 20-all with her ace. Then a rotation error, a back-row attack violation and an errant set allowed the Troubies to regain the lead for good. Glikman and Sutton had kills at each pin to pull their team to the 25-21 win in the first set.

The Troubies fell behind by as much as 16-9 in the second before rebounding with eight unanswered toward a 17-16 lead. Rio answered back with three straight points of their own to  reclaim a 19-17 advantage. Marissa Jensen scored a kill and teamed with Glikman for a block to bring SF back to a 20-20 tie, then Chloe Pearson knocked down a kill to give the Raiders their final lead of 21-20. A ball off the antenna sent sophomore setter Hiedi Vu to the serve out the match. Vu had the final go-ahead with an ace at 22-21. Two Raider hits never cleared the net to establish a 24-21 match point for SF, then junior Layla Hernandez' down-ball kill completed the championship run.

The CIVT is the second tournament win in 2025 for St. Francis varsity, which went 8-0 to capture the Central California Classic three weeks prior. The Troubie junior varsity, the only squad not in action on Saturday, claimed its version of the CIVT title back on September 13.

All three teams return to Sierra Foothill League play on Monday for a home tripleheader against Davis. Match times are 4:30 for frosh, 5:30 for JV and 6:30 for varsity. Tickets are available through GoFan with live video streamed to the NFHS Network.

2025 CARMICHAEL INVITATIONAL VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT (VARSITY EDITION)
Capital Sports Center (Carmichael, Calif.)

POOL PLAY
St. Francis 2, RIver Valley 1 (24-26, 25-15, 15-6)
St. Francis 2, Weston Ranch 0 (25-12, 25-9)
St. Francis 2, Pleasant Valley 0 (25-18, 25-23)

CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
St. Francis 2, Nevada Union 0 (25-14, 25-23)
St. Francis 2, Vacaville 1 (25-12, 15-25, 15-11)
St. Francis 2, Rio Americano 0 (25-21, 25-21)


17TH STOCKTON CLASSIC (FROSH EDITION)
Lodi High School (Lodi, Calif.)

POOL PLAY
St. Francis 2, Amador Valley 0 (25-12, 25-7)
St. Francis 2, Lodi (25-7, 25-13)

CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
St. Francis 2, St. Mary's 0 (25-18, 30-28)
Saint Francis 2, St. Francis 0 (25-19, 25-16)