St. Francis Volleyball Wins Holy Court Rivalry Game

   SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The St. Francis volleyball team won the annual Holy Court matchup with Christian Brothers with a straight set 3-0 victoryThursday night. The Troubadours won the Holy Court game for the fifth straight season by the score of 25-23, 25-17, 25-23.

   “I think they had confidence and believed in themselves and each other,” said Head Coach Alynn Wright. “All through the week we talked about having each other’s back and I think tonight they did. We played as a team and won as a team. There was not any real superstar out there tonight.”

   The Troubies dropped the first three points of the match before settling to take a 15-10 lead in the first set. St. Francis led the rest of the set and closed it out 25-23.

   “Once we got into our rhythm, I think they truly believed it was going to be their night,” said Wright.

   The second set was tied six times before St. Francis broke away from a tie at 11 and won seven straight points to extend the lead to 19-12 before winning 25-17.

   St. Francis (15-3) and Christian Brothers battled again in the third. The Falcons managed a late lead 17-16 but the Troubadours pulled even and won the third and decisive set 25-23.

   Senior Anna Baytosh recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs. Senior Ali Koumelis had 31 assists and five kills. Megan Sullivan posted 10 kills and Chloe Hakim had a team-best 26 digs.

   “Anna made some great hitting decisions,” said Wright. “Ali Koumelis did a great job isolating hitters. We were one-on-one a number of times. Our block did very well. Lea Felton had a good match tonight with her blocking and her hitting. I thought she was very effective in not allowing them to run their middles.”

   The game was sold out and featured a large cheering second for each side.

   “This is one of the biggest rivalries in the state for volleyball and one of the most supported,” said Wright.

   St. Francis was represented by a large student contingent with The Zoo spirit group.

   “The Zoo is really cool with the uncaging of all the St. Francis animals,” said Baytosh. “I think they really helped us win tonight.”

   The Troubadours return to the court next week for a game on the road at Ponderosa on Oct. 2 and play in the Presentation Invitational on Oct. 5.

   “It is such an amazing feeling because I know that I played for my teammates and we played for each other,” said Baytosh. “It is what helped us in the end. For our senior year this is the cherry on top of the cake and we are ready for the rest of the season.”