PALO ALTO — There is no more unfinished business left for St. Francis volleyball in the Central Coast Section.
The Lancers came up just short in the CCS Open Division final last season. But not on Saturday night at Palo Alto High School.
Second-seeded St. Francis defeated fourth-seeded St. Ignatius 26-24, 25-13, 22-25, 25-22 in one of the more epic four-set volleyball matches you will ever see.
The Lancers’ reward after such a hard-fought match? The well-earned spoils of their long-coveted CCS title.
“It was definitely a roller coaster, but it was one that was totally worth it in the end,” said senior Grace Gowdy, who posted a near double-double with a team-leading 17 kills and nine digs. “We had the ups, we had the downs. But in the end, we came together. We played as a team, we trusted each other and we worked hard.”
The matchup featured wild momentum swings in the first three sets. In the first, St. Francis (28-5) jumped out to a 9-5 lead, then quickly found itself down 16-12.
SI (22-13) led 24-21 late in the opening set but squandered three consecutive set points. The Lancers finished the first set on a 5-0 run to take the early 1-0 lead.
“It went just about as we expected it to go,” said St. Francis coach Lake Merchen. “We knew that they were going to play as hard as they could, and we knew what we were getting ourselves into in this match.”
The second set featured a 9-5 advantage in favor of SI, but things flipped quickly in St. Francis’ direction. The Lancers dominated the remainder of the frame, finishing it on a 20-4 run.
“The urgency went down a little bit,” said SI coach Saga Vae. “But you choose, ‘Do you want 20 more minutes of this game when you’re enjoying this crowd and being on this stage? Show some heart and put on a show.’”
The Wildcats responded to Vae’s message, jumping out to a 7-2 lead in the third set and holding off another St. Francis surge to get on the board.
But the Lancers weren’t going to let SI do it again. In a fourth set that was within five points throughout, St. Francis emerged with the three-point win.
“It honestly means the world,” Gowdy said. “Going to the CCS championship last year and not being able to finish was obviously hard. Being able to come back this year, being on top, coming off the court with our chins up was such an amazing feeling.”
Most outside observers anticipated a rematch between St. Francis and Archbishop Mitty, the top seed in the bracket and the favorite to repeat as CCS champs. Mitty had gone 4-1 against SI and the Lancers entering the CCS tournament, with the only loss an early-season four-setter in Mountain View.
But St. Ignatius pulled off a stunner on Wednesday night, rallying from two sets down to earn a 14-25, 21-25, 26-24, 25-23, 16-14 reverse sweep.
SI had not beaten Mitty, which held a 14-12 lead in the fifth set, since 2018. The …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
