Volleyball Drops Section Semifinals to No. 1 Pitman

   TURLOCK, Calif. ““ The St. Francis volleyball team lost to No. 1 Pitman in the semifinals of the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals 3-1 Tuesday night, ending their season.

   “I told the kids that there is only one team that gets to end their season with a victory and that is in the state championship,” said Head Coach Alynn Wright. “I was proud of them for battling but it does hurt.”

   St. Francis (30-12), the No. 4 seed, opened the match with a 25-19 victory in the opening set, looking to post the upset and get back to the Division I section finals for the fifth consecutive season and eighth section final in a row overall. The Troubadours led from the start, posting a 3-0 lead, and never lost the advantage in the opening set.

   The Pride (40-1) responded in the second set, winning seven of the first eight points to swing the momentum. They led by as many as 11 and cruised to a 25-14 win.

   “It thought we came out in the first set aggressive,” said Wright. “Then we stopped playing aggressive and started playing tentative in the second and third sets. They came out aggressive and went after us.”

   Pitman won the third set behind another strong start, winning nine of the first 10 points to take the lead in the match with a 25-13 win.

   “When we started the fourth set, that was the difference,” said Wright. “We put our shoulders forward and went after them.”

   St. Francis led late 20-18 after a kill by Mary-Kate Schildmeyer but the Pride fought back to tie the set for the fifth and final time at 20. They closed the match on a 7-0 win to advance to the section finals with a 25-20 win.

   PITMAN 3, ST. FRANCIS 1

   St. Francis 25 14 4 20

   Pitman 20 25 25 25

DIVISION I
Semifinals/Tuesday
Pitman 3, St. Francis 1
Pleasant Grove 3, Oak Ridge 2
Championship/Friday at UC Davis Pavilion
#2 Pleasant Grove vs. #1 Pitman, 8 p.m.