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.

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.