With only one senior on the roster, the Class 1A Saint Francis Catholic Academy volleyball team is young and still learning.
But they’re also competitive, and they took the first set on the road at Class 2A Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) on Tuesday night. However, the Cardinals rallied for a 23-25, 25-10, 25-22, 25-22 win at home.
The Wolves had to fight for it to win the opening set, rallying from a 14-4 deficit. An ace by junior Naomi Magary (9 kills) gave them a 2-point win to start the match.
“Yeah, definitely a lot of fight,” said second-year Saint Francis head coach Breona Fung. “I think oftentimes we’re slow to warm up, but once they get there, they put in some work. So yeah, I was proud of them for that.”
Rilyn Prodesky had an ace and a kill during a 6-0 run to get back within four (14-10). The sophomore finished with 12 kills.
“Rilyn is always one of our standout players,” Fung said. “I think she’s the most consistent player on our team, and we value her a lot. We tell our setters all the time, find Rilyn on the court, go to her. She works really hard front row and back row, so we really appreciate her.”
Hannah Ulmer matched Prodesky with 12 kills. The junior had a kill and an ace to put the Wolves just two points behind (21-19) the Cardinals (11-8).
“Same with Hannah, again, both my outsides, we lean on them a lot, both in serving and front row,” Fung said. “So, we really appreciate when they show up and they light up the team.”
Holding just a one-point lead late, 24-23, the ace by Magary gave the Wolves (8-8) a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five match at The Cardinals’ Nest.
“We talk about pressure from the service line all the time as a team,” Fung said. “So, it’s really good to see when the girls go out there and they capitalize and they work on getting their serve over and in. And obviously we love an ace.”
The Cardinals answered.
Bishop Snyder never trailed in the second set and ended with an 8-0 run. Bishop Snyder sophomore Gigi Tomlin had seven service points, plus the final ace, to even it at 1-game each.
“One of the things we talk about in our huddle is foot on the gas,” Fung said. “We tend to drop a lot of second sets after coming off a first set win, and so something that we’re trying to focus on is playing at the same level consistently throughout each set instead of just playing up and down in a roller coaster, so tough second set.”
Although Saint Francis had tied the final two games at 18-apiece, they ended up losing the next two games by identical scores of 25-22.
“I think we were very high error this match,” Fung said. “A lot of balls dropping on our sides, miscommunications. Obviously, credit to Bishop Snyder. They had some great kills, but again, just cleaning up what we can on our side, controlling what we can on our side of the net, and I think that’ll help us put a few more sets away.”
Sophomore Alyssa Pappas had a team-best 13 digs and sophomore Olivia Carswell led with 22 assists for Saint Francis, which returns to the court on Thursday for a home game at 6 p.m. against Dixie County (Cross City).
Coach Fung and the Lady Wolves will be guests on “The Prep Zone Sports Show” on Wednesday, September 23, from 6-7 p.m. at locally owned Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville on 39th Avenue. You can listen to the show on Mainstreet Daily News.