Messa does it again for St. Francis

Daniele Messa got the job done her sophomore year when she led St. Francis to the second of its three straight Class 3A championships.

"She got the job done her first year," St. Francis coach Peg Kopec said. "She's done it with a little bit more flair with a little bit more skill the last two years. I think she's fun to watch."

The Missouri State University recruit was having fun Thursday when she had 20 assists, 2 aces and a kill to lead St. Francis past Providence 25-14, 25-11 and within one game of doing something that has not been done in, well, maybe forever.

"Yeah, we're really excited about it," said Messa, referring to St. Francis' opportunity to deny Mother McAuley a Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division title. "Especially because this is the first time we're in a conference with them. So we are really excited about it and ready to break that record."

St. Francis (30-3) is unbeaten in conference play and will try to complete a perfect run through the league schedule next Tuesday when it entertains Montini. Much of St. Francis' success this season is due to Messa, who has improved continually since her sophomore year.

"Dani is underrated," Kopec said. "She is a calm, quiet kind of kid. She's not always so flashy. She doesn't look real excited most of the time and she just keeps getting better. She just gets the job done."

Of course, Messa has several weapons from which to choose.

"We have a great defense, a great offense," she said. "A lot of people are playing out of position so we have to adjust and change what we're doing. But a lot of our athletes are really adjustable. They're really easy to change, so we can move people around.

"I can move my hitters around depending on what team we're playing or defense they're playing," she added. "(Libero) Becca Fernandez, she's a junior, she's great. She passes well so that really helps makes it a lot easier for me."

Messa and St. Francis were only briefly challenged Thursday, but a 5-0 run midway through Game 1 put Providence (22-7, 6-2) on its heels. The Spartans opened a 10-5 lead in Game 2 and were never threatened.

Molly Haggerty had 8 kills and 2 blocks, Delaney Malloy added 6 kills and 2 blocks and Kamryn Malloy had 5 kills for St. Francis, which opens play in the Class 4A tournament Oct. 27.

"We're definitely preparing," Messa said. "We're getting ready every day. We come to practice and work hard. We work on the things all the time. There will be new competition, so we're really excited about that and we're ready to go."