SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Outside hitter Sophia Palmeri and libero Malia Fat each posted double-figure digs but St. Francis was limited to a .140 hitting average in falling to Folsom in straight sets, 25-14, 25-21, 25-20, in the varsity finale of a Sierra Foothill League girls' volleyball tripleheader Monday night.

The Troubadours, ranked seventh in the Sac-Joaquin Section by MaxPreps entering the week, slip to 22-6 for the year with a 3-6 league record. The sixth-ranked Bulldogs improve to 21-8 overall and 8-1 in SFL play.

Junior Hailey Sutton tallied nine kills on 27 swings to lead SF offensively, with fellow 11th-graders Gilly Glikman and Palmeri following with eight and seven, respectively. Palmeri also scooped up 15 digs, with Fat tallying 10. Sutton added another nine gets, with setter Hiedi Vu picking up eight to go with her 14 assists and two aces.

However, the Troubies surrendered 11 aces, with three coming in a run of six unanswered Bulldog points to finish the match. In a third set that featured 13 ties, Palmeri gave SF a 20-19 lead on a successful line shot. Folsom responded with the 6-0 closing stretch, with junior Addison Smith posting two of her match-high 15 kills and senior Megan Munson firing aces for her team's 22nd, 24th and 25th points.

St. Francis trailed for almost the entirety of the first set, with an 8-1 Folsom run resulting in the Bulldogs holding a 10-point 18-8 lead. The margin stretched to 11 at 20-9 on kills from middles Avery Masters and Jazmin Ojo. But the Troubies rallied early in the second, fully erasing an initial 8-4 deficit when Sutton and Marissa Jensen teamed up on a left-side block to tie the proceedings at 10-all. Still, St. Francis failed to gain the lead, with a long rally resulting in a net violation followed by Masters turning back an errant serve reception to put Folsom back up, 12-10.  

Instead, the Troubies pulled ahead on numerous occasions in the third, with the lead changing hands six times. Two Folsom attacking errors, the first coming as a result of a Glikman solo stuff, gave SF an edge of 18-16. Palmeri later smacked down a four ball to make it 19-17, but that ended up the last time the Troubies led by two or more in the match. Masters' monster kill at the middle of the tape and a Ryan Kannegeisser primed the Bulldogs for their 6-0 finish to complete the sweep.

The varsity match followed victories by St. Francis frosh and junior varsity, each with vastly different trajectories. The Troubie frosh swept the Bulldogs by scores of 25-16, 25-17. Abby Carrothers had five kills and a solo block in the first set, plus two more kills in the second, although her seventh score came in almost accidental fashion – she got just a piece of a ball well off the tape, but it slipped over the net into empty Folsom court to give her team a 12-10 lead. Setter Jamie Jack did similar later in the third, when she nudged a second-contact ball over the net for an 18-15 edge.

Michaela Forman finished with six kills and two aces for the match, with middle blocker Clara Anderson serving up three straight aces to close out the win. The second set had eight ties through a 10-10 impasse, but the Carrothers kill, plus two aces each from Jack and Finley McKinnon helped the Troubies pull away by as much as 16-12.

The SF jayvees followed with a split set, 25-17, 22-25, 15-12 win over the Bulldogs. Setter Quinn Castro served up the bulk of an 8-1 run in the first to craft a 16-11 lead, then Delaney McGahan tallied three kills and an ace down the stretch for the early match lead. St. Francis took a 13-12 advantage midway through the second but Folsom freshman Gemma Davis later hit three kills in a 5-0 Bulldog run that resulted in the guests holding a 19-14 edge. Back-to-back aces from Kayla McCauley, the second of which came as a result of a rotation error, helped SF to pull within a single point at 21-20, but Folsom held off the Troubies to even the match.

St. Francis received more than half of its 15 points in the third set on Folsom miscues but managed to tighten the screws for the final stretch. Hassanah Ramsey-Gilbert knocked down a one to take a 12-11 lead, then Lauren Rowe scored a kill on a Bulldog overpass and teamed with Tiara Lee on a block for the match-winner.

The Troubadours remain at home on Wednesday to host Granite Bay for a 4:30/5:30/6:30 SFL tripleheader. The match is also designated PAL Night, with students from the Parochial Athletic League granted free admission if wearing their school or team uniforms. Additionally, the SF varsity squad will stay after its match for a free autograph session for all fans.