SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The St. Francis volleyball team will defend their NorCal Championship Tuesday, advancing with a 3-0 win over No. 3 seed Homestead Saturday night in the CIF State Volleyball Championship.

St. Francis (33-8) opened with a strong first set, posting a 25-13 win over the visiting Mustangs.  Homestead tied the match at 1 with a 25-20 win in the second, snapping a 32-set win streak by the Troubies in the regular season and playoff matches at home.

“In the second set we did not serve very tough,” said Alynn Wright, who will lead St. Francis into a NorCal final for the fifth time in her career. “It allowed them to be more in system. But, we got back to serving tough.”

St. Francis opened with a 5-0 start in set three behind the serving of senior Ali Koumelis, who had three service aces in the match. She added 33 assists and nine digs.

The Troubies won the third 25-19 and led 20-16 in the fourth before Homestead rallied. The Mustangs fought back to tie the game at 21 and had two set points. But three consecutive service errors kept St. Francis in the match before they closed it out 29-27.

“It was a great team win. I thought everyone played well. Ali set a great game, we got production from all of our hitters and we served tougher than we have. It was really important.”

The Troubadours, the No. 2 seed in the Northern California bracket, will face No. 1 seed Granite Bay Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Granite Bay.

“There was a lot of emotion in the gym tonight,” said Wright. “If we play anywhere close to that, we have got a shot.”

It will be the fourth meeting of the season between the two schools and a rematch of the 2012 NorCal Championship game won by St. Francis.