LOOMIS, Calif. – Junior outside hitter Hailey Sutton knocked out a career-high 24 kills while finishing as one of three Troubadours with double-digit defense, as St. Francis pulled out a four-set, 25-16, 25-18, 21-25, 26-24 win over Del Oro in the varsity finale of a Sierra Foothill League girls' volleyball tripleheader at Bonner Gym Wednesday night.

The Troubies improve to 28-7 for the season and evens their league record to 6-6. The Golden Eagles dip to 23-10 with a 7-5 SFL mark. The two teams entered the match ranked No. 4 and No. 3 among Sac-Joaquin Section Division II programs, according to MaxPreps. They were also ranked seventh and fourth among all SJS teams by the same website.

Sutton's previous offensive high of 16 kills came on two occasions. Coincidentally, her first 16-kill match came at Bonner Gym 13 months prior in the Troubies' 3-0 sweep on September 23 last season. Sutton then matched that total, again in three sets, in this year's Holy Court sweep of Christian Brothers on August 30. With 13 digs, she enjoyed her second straight double double and her sixth of the 2025 season.

Junior opposite Gilly Glikman complemented Sutton's offensive work with 10 kills against just two attack errors for a .333 average, while contributing on six of SF's 15 total blocks.  
Defensively, Sophia Palmeri led all Troubies with 19 digs, with Malia Fat (16), Sutton (13), Hiedi Vu (10) and Gigi Dickerson (10) also cracking double digits. In fact, the setting platoon of Vu and Katie Kramer combined for 43 assists and 18 digs.

St. Francis pulled away from a close early battle in the first set, with Hernandez and Sutton hammering back-to-back kills to start a 4-0 run that ended with a 14-8 lead. Hernandez later capped a stretch of five unanswered, with her tool bringing the score to 21-12. Mercy Collier smacked down a one ball then combined with Palmeri for a block as part of the latter. The Troubies continued the momentum into the second set, forging a 12-2 start then maintaining at least a four-point edge en route to a 2-0 match lead.

The Troubies overcame a deficit as large as 20-12 to pull within two points on two instances down the stretch: Marissa Jensen's kill brought the score to just a 20-22 hole. Lily Smith's dive prevented an ace from cutting the margin to a single point, with setter Bella Rasi tipping the ball into open SF court for a kill. But Glikman answered on the ensuing serve with a kill, again bringing the Troubies within two at 21-23. The Golden Eagles took set point when Aidyn Messerli mistimed a set but tipped it home for a kill. Right-sider Summer Sisson then finished it off for the 25th, preventing the Troubies from a sweep.

In the same way St. Francis carried its first-set momentum into the second, Del Oro continued to roll into the fourth, starting out with 10 of the first 12 points. An errant shot later brought the Troubies to within a one-point hole at 17-18, then Sutton equalized with a pipe at 18-18. Palmeri followed with a kill from the left pin to give St. Francis its first lead of the fourth at 19-18, but DO answered with three straight. A Troubie service error knotted the score back up at 19-all. Then Smith's dive to prevent a Sutton overpass from becoming a free-ball kill transitioned a Zoe Jewett kill. This sent Smith to the service line, where she promptly carved up the SF back row for an ace and a 21-19 lead.

Collier scored on a tipped ball and Sutton's tool followed to even the set at 21-21. Collier then accidentally scored a kill to make it three straight and a 22-21 lead. She successfully covered a block, only to watch the ball roll over the net into the DO court. The net proved too high on a subsequent Golden Eagle hit, giving SF a 23-21 lead. Jewett answered with another kill, starting a 3-0 run that ended with a Gia Hoffman ace and a 24-23 DO set point. Then the Troubies caught a break, when Hoffman's serve came up short, tying the frame yet again at 24-24.

A long rally saw Sutton pound away from the left side, with the third landing for her 24th kill and a 25-24 match point. Del Oro surrendered the final point, when its free ball sailed slightly wide of the boundary in front of the Troubadour bench, ending the match at 26-24 and three sets to one.

The varsity win followed a split-set victory for St. Francis' junior varsity. The Troubadours won, 22-25, 25-17, 20-18, to claim their 30th win of the year: 30-3 overall with a 12-0 SFL record. Meanwhile, the SF frosh suffered its first league loss, falling in straight sets, 25-22, 25-20. The younger Troubies had a chance to force a rubber set thanks to an 18-11 lead in the second, but DO righted its ship with a 14-2 finish.

St. Francis returns to action in its home finale against Oak Ridge on Monday. The team will honor six seniors prior to the varsity match: Collier, Dickerson, Fat, Jensen, Kramer and Chloe Johnson. Match times are 4:30 for frosh, 5:30 for JV and 6:30 p.m. for varsity.