SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior outside hitters Hailey Sutton and Sophia Palmeri each posted double-doubles to lead No. 2 seed St. Francis to a four-set, 25-8, 25-16, 29-31, 25-21 victory over No. 3 West Park in the semifinal round of the CIF Northern California Division III Regional.

The Troubadours (35-8) advance to Tuesday's regional final, where they will host fourth-seeded Clovis West. The Golden Eagles captured a five-set upset of top-seeded Palo Alto in the opposite semifinal in the Bay Area.

Sutton finished with 19 kills and 20 digs for her third straight double-double. She also served up six of her team's 17 aces. Palmeri, owner of two of those service aces, posted 15 kills against two errors for a .394 average while scooping up 15 digs on floor defense.  

Two more juniors, Gilly Glikman and Layla Hernandez, platooned their way to 27 total kills on 70 swings: Glikman came off the bench to provide a 9-1-17 (.471) attacking chart, with Hernandez starting at the right pin to the tune of 8-3-19 (.263). Senior middle blocker Mercy Collier also chipped in another four kills with just one error, while teaming up with all four pin hitters at least once en route to five block assists.

In addition to Sutton, four players served up multiple aces. Gigi Dickerson had five total, including three straight down the stretch of the first set. Katie Kramer opened the match with three aces in a 4-0 start as part of four total. Palmeri served up two, including one that provided SF with a 28-27 match point in the third.

As the 25-8 margin attests, the Troubies dominated the first set. After Kramer's hot start from the service line, Palmeri notched four kills to help extend the start to a 12-4 lead, then Glikman and Collier combined on a block to make it a 13-4 start. Dickerson's three consecutive aces stretched the advantage to 20-6, with Sutton posting three kills in the final stretch to complete the victorious frame.

An tool by senior Katie Hannah and an ace from sophomore Mia Ruiz propelled West Park to a 3-0 start, but back-to-back Sutton aces quickly filled that hole to a 3-3 tie, the first of four such deadlocks. Glikman misfired on a crosscourt shot for that 6-6 equalizer, but redeemed herself with three kills to forge a 10-8 SF lead. The Troubies never trailed again in the second set. Palmeri joined Collier on a block then later tooled the Panther right side to send Harper Rios to the service line. Glikman supported Rios with consecutive kills, further expanding the Troubie edge to 18-11. The Panthers managed to close the gap to four at 19-15 thanks to a pair of kills from sophomore Claire Goulding, but SF finished with six of the final seven to craft a 2-0 match lead.

The two teams engaged in a rollercoaster battle throughout the third set. Junior Surina Wong served up back-to-back aces for a 6-2 Panther start. Sutton scored three kills, including one on a joust, to help the Troubies back to a 9-9 tie. SF followed with five straight points to take a 14-10 lead, with Marissa Jensen scoring on a tip and later on a block assist with Palmeri in the turnaround. But Goulding posted three kills while Wong served up another ace as West Park fought back to a 17-16 lead.

The Panthers held onto that advantage up to 23-20, with Rylan Masys firing a kill down the line. But Masys' ensuing serve missed long, and Sutton served consecutive aces of her own to even the set at 23-23. Goulding won a joust against Hernandez to set the board at 24-23 – the first of fourth set points for West Park. Meanwhile, St. Francis had three match points of its own down the stretch: Glikman's right-side kill to make it 26-25, Palmeri's ace at 28-27, and another Glikman kill on a five ball to take a 29-28 lead. Still, West Park responded with three straight points to hold off the Troubie sweep, with Tiara Hlengwa and Masys each delivering offensively in the set-winning run.

Masys remained hot to start the fourth set, ripping three kills in an 8-4 overall start. Sutton, who scored two kills for the Troubies during that span, knocked down a kill before teaming with Collier on a block to close the gap to 8-7. Palmeri remained at the service line to find the back corner for an ace, completing the comeback to 8-8.

St. Francis took the lead for good with a 6-0 run. Sutton and Jensen turned back an ill-timed setter dump for a Troubie block and the first of four hitting errors that resulted in the hosts holding a 16-10 edge. West Park managed to trim its deficit from 23-17 to 23-21, thanks in part to two Goulding kills. St. Francis called a timeout, then converted the side out when Abby Sutton's slide avoided the Troubie block and sailed wide for a 24-21 match point. Glikman and Fat successfully covered two blocks, the second of which saw Collier send a down ball across the net to continue the rally. Instead, West Park's attempt to field Collier's hit sailed into the net with little chance for a second contact, awarding a kill to Collier, the 25th point to St. Francis and the first NorCal final appearance for the Troubies in 12 years.

Clovis West posted its 30th win (30-13) upon the upset against Palo Alto. The Golden Eagles finished third in the Tri-River Athletic Conference, earned a sixth seed in the Central Section Division I tourney, upset San Luis Obispo but lost to Buchanan in pool play. Clovis West swept Monta Vista and Christian Brothers to advance to Saturday's semifinal with Palo Alto, where the Eagles won 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 15-12.

Clovis West is led offensively by freshman Brooklyn Lopez (332 kills), senior Layla Soares (305 kills) and senior Jaden Graham (254 kills). Freshman Maliah Williams entered Saturday with another 132 kills while leading the net defense with 87 total blocks. Sophomore Courtlin Pulliam leads the Golden Eagles in both floor defense (392 digs) and at the service line (38 aces).

St. Francis and Clovis West have met three previous times in the MaxPreps era (2004-present). The Troubies swept the Golden Eagles (as well as Clovis East and Clovis North) in bracket play of the 2019 Central California Classic, but Clovis West won two five-set battles in 2004 and 2008.

Tuesday's match starts at 6 p.m. Direct links to GoFan (tickets) and NFHS Network (live video) are now available at GoTroubies.com.'