Posted: Oct 30, 2025
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior outside hitter Sophia Palmeri posted team highs of nine kills and a .571 hitting average while No. 4-seeded St. Francis collectively totaled 12 service aces and nine blocks in a 25-10, 25-12, 25-10 win over No. 13-seed Buhach Colony in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II girls' volleyball championship tournament Tuesday night.
The Troubadours improve to 31-7 for the season. The Thunder, representing the Central California Conference, finish 2025 with an 18-13 overall record.
Junior left-sider Hailey Sutton added another eight kills, while opposite Layla Hernandez chipped in six. In the middle, sophomore Alli MacDonald (3-0-4) and senior Marissa Jensen (2-0-4) combined for five. Sidney Palmeri came off the bench for four kills of her own, including three among her team's final eight points of the match.
At the service line, sophomore Hiedi Vu served up four aces while combining with fellow setters Katie Kramer (11 assists) and Harper Rios (eight assists) for St. Francis' team attack rate of .328. Senior libero Malia Fat served up three aces to go with her team-leading 11 digs. Sutton and Kramer had two aces each, with another setter, Brynley Magley, serving up the 12th to establish a 24-10 match point in the third set.
The Troubie block also figured heavily in the sweep. Sophia Palmeri had SF's lone solo stuff, which resulted in a 13-3 lead in the opening set. Five different Troubadours contributed on multiple blocks: junior opposite Gilly Glikman on four, senior Mercy Collier on three, Jensen on three, Hernandez on three, and MacDonald on two.
St. Francis opened the match with five straight points and ran out to a 6-0 start in the third, but had to overcome a relatively slow start before running away in the second. Thunder setter McKenna Hill served up an ace – one of only two the Troubies surrendered – with middle Kylie Key following with a tool to start the middle frame. An attacking error kept Buhach up by a 3-2 margin but Sophia Palmeri led a 10-1 SF response with three kills. MacDonald also scored a kill and teamed with Sutton for a block in that stretch.
The Troubadours will remain at home to host No. 5-seeded El Capitan on Thursday. The Gauchos breezed to a 25-8, 25-17, 25-19 sweep over Manteca to advance to the quarterfinal round. Match time is 6 p.m., with tickets available only through the GoFan app and platform.
The Troubadours improve to 31-7 for the season. The Thunder, representing the Central California Conference, finish 2025 with an 18-13 overall record.
Junior left-sider Hailey Sutton added another eight kills, while opposite Layla Hernandez chipped in six. In the middle, sophomore Alli MacDonald (3-0-4) and senior Marissa Jensen (2-0-4) combined for five. Sidney Palmeri came off the bench for four kills of her own, including three among her team's final eight points of the match.
At the service line, sophomore Hiedi Vu served up four aces while combining with fellow setters Katie Kramer (11 assists) and Harper Rios (eight assists) for St. Francis' team attack rate of .328. Senior libero Malia Fat served up three aces to go with her team-leading 11 digs. Sutton and Kramer had two aces each, with another setter, Brynley Magley, serving up the 12th to establish a 24-10 match point in the third set.
The Troubie block also figured heavily in the sweep. Sophia Palmeri had SF's lone solo stuff, which resulted in a 13-3 lead in the opening set. Five different Troubadours contributed on multiple blocks: junior opposite Gilly Glikman on four, senior Mercy Collier on three, Jensen on three, Hernandez on three, and MacDonald on two.
St. Francis opened the match with five straight points and ran out to a 6-0 start in the third, but had to overcome a relatively slow start before running away in the second. Thunder setter McKenna Hill served up an ace – one of only two the Troubies surrendered – with middle Kylie Key following with a tool to start the middle frame. An attacking error kept Buhach up by a 3-2 margin but Sophia Palmeri led a 10-1 SF response with three kills. MacDonald also scored a kill and teamed with Sutton for a block in that stretch.
The Troubadours will remain at home to host No. 5-seeded El Capitan on Thursday. The Gauchos breezed to a 25-8, 25-17, 25-19 sweep over Manteca to advance to the quarterfinal round. Match time is 6 p.m., with tickets available only through the GoFan app and platform.
Full bracket: https://www.cifsjs.org/volleyball-d2-bracket
