ROCKLIN, Calif. – The St. Francis volleyball team upset No. 3 seed Whitney in the CIF State Championship Division 2 NorCal bracket 3-1 Saturday night. The Troubadours advance to face Valley Christian out of San Jose in the semifinals Tuesday night.

“I am on a high right now,” said freshman Alexa Edwards. “It feels so amazing that we could do it. We are two games away from state.”

St. Francis faced Whitney for the second time in the postseason and third time overall this season. The team mantra leading up the match was two L’s equal a W (picture it with your hands).

“We have been working really hard in practice,” said Head Coach Alynn Wright. “The kids have been committed to getting better and to making a deep run in state. They didn’t let the loss to Whitney defeat them. Instead it motivated them. We knew we would see them again.”

St. Francis (29-16) won the first set 25-20 to get off to a good start in the match, equaling the start from the last meeting.

“It set the tone,” said Wright. “We started slow again on the other side. Once they settled down, we out-played them.”

Tied at 1, St. Francis played some of their best volleyball of the season.

“After losing the second set, we were kinda angry and we used that to motivate us that we could do it,” said Edwards.

The Troubadours won a close third set 25-22 to take the momentum back in the match.

“I was convinced the winner of the third set was going to win,” said Wright. “They started making errors that they don’t usually make and we started making plays that we have been making in practice but not games. I am really proud of them. I thought we played as a team the best we have all season.”

St. Francis took the lead early in the fourth and built a 10-point lead before closing it out 25-17, invoking a celebration on the court.

Junior Aubrey Kenney led the team with 17 digs from her libero position and senior Kelsey Grover added 10.

“We finished with a really strong win,” said junior Aubrey Kenny. “We all came out strong and with a lot of intensity. We came to work really hard. We knew it was going to be a tough match but did not let that get to us.”

Edwards finished with a double-double, recording a season-best 31 kills with 16 digs while hitting over 39 percent. Senior Claire Schutz recorded 13 kills and hit over 40 percent, while junior Aiyu Aimufua added nine kills with a better than 50 percentage. Junior Madelyn Schildmeyer recorded a career-high 51 assists.

St. Francis lost to Valley Christian 2-0 in the Stockton Invitational earlier this season.

CIF State Division 2 NorCal Results

No. 6 St. Francis def. No. 3 Whitney 25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 25-17

No. 2 Valley Christian def. Rocklin 25-13, 25-19, 25-19

No. 1 St. Francis (MV) def. Pleasant Valley 25-10, 25-13, 23-25, 25-14

No. 5 Elk Grove def. No. 4 Presentation 25-22, 18-25, 25-18, 25-22