FOLSOM, Calif. – Sophomore Joie Dickerson collected 29 digs in four sets during bracket play as St. Francis swept fellow Sierra Foothill League members Oak Ridge and Folsom in the bracket play of the Bulldog Bash junior varsity girls' volleyball tournament at Folsom Saturday.
The Troubadours open their season at 5-1. They beat Cordova (25-8. 25-5), Ponderosa (25-19, 25-11) and Vacaville (25-15, 25-18) in tournament pool play, then dispatched Oak Ridge, 26-24, 25-18, in the semifinal of the Gold bracket. Finally, SF beat the Bulldogs by scores of 18 and 16 in the Gold title match.
The championship happened to avenge a loss to the Bulldogs from earlier in the day. When Folsom's 10 a.m. opponent did not show up, the Troubies accommodated their hosts by adding an extra contest between their matches against the Lancers and Bruins. However, that match did not count toward the tourney standings.
Dickerson scooped up nine digs in the first set against Folsom, then added another seven in the second. She also took part in a potent serving game that totaled 17 aces in the finale: six from Quinn Castro, five from Kyle Beckett, three from Emily Simpson and three by Dickerson.
In fact, the Troubies performed well from the service line throughout. Dickerson had three aces and 13 digs in the semifinal win over the Trojans, Zoie Alves matched that hat trick against Vacaville, while Castro (5), Gaby Gonzalez (3) and Kayla McCauley (3) carved up the Pondo passing line.
McCauley also enjoyed one of the stronger offensive days for the Troubies in their opening day, pounding out five kills with no errors against the Bulldogs, following a five-kill performance versus the Bruins. Hassanah Ramsey-Gilbert led the attack against Oak Ridge with seven kills on 13 swings, not long after going 4-for-7 in the Pondo win. Sophomore Tiara Lee notched six kills on eight attempts against Vacaville, with three coming in the final five points of the first set.
St. Francis volleyball returns to action on Tuesday in a home tripleheader with Vacaville. Match times are 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. The Bulldogs are the defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division II champions, having outlasted Christian Brothers in a five-set battle last November at Cosumnes River College.
