Girls volleyball: State finals trip eludes St. Francis
St. Francis didn't pass its Latin test.
One win away from earning their first trip to the state finals since 2015, the Spartans didn't have any answers Friday night as Latin pulled off a shockingly easy 25-18, 25-18 victory at the Class 3A Timothy Christian supersectional.
The futility wasn't a result of a lack of studying.
"We knew coming into the game that they were going to be very tough," St. Francis setter Sam Ward said. "We had watched a lot of film on them, we had seen a lot of what they were doing.
"The way they played tonight, that was fantastic volleyball. With the way they played tonight, they should go all the way."
Indeed, the Romans (30-2) played like world-beaters. They trailed only twice, the last being a 2-1 deficit in the opening game, which quickly became a memory.
Latin's play was exemplary throughout. The Romans committed only 5 hitting error and 3 service errors and were outstanding defensively.
The defense, in particular, allowed Latin to withstand every comeback attempt by the Spartans, who trailed 14-13 before the Romans went on a 6-0 run, capped by 2 aces from senior middle Kelsey Watkins, whose back-to-back blocks ended the first set.
The second game was even more one-sided. Junior right side Katie Kraczkowsky, who led all players with 9 kills, served 5 straight points, including 4 aces, to give the Romans an early 8-2 lead.
"They played extremely well," St. Francis coach Lisa Ston said. "Their serving is great, to say the least, and their outside hitters are very smart.
"They put the ball away. (Charlotte Cronister) takes one of the biggest swings we've seen all year."
Julia Kinder had 8 kills and Cronister, a Northwestern recruit, added 5 kills for the Romans, who outplayed the Spartans (29-11) in every phase. They had 8 aces and 7 blocks for points, while the Spartans scored 3 points on blocks and had no aces.
"It's one of those games where you can say we got beat," Ward said. "We didn't lose; we got beat."
The Spartans got beat in a way few, except maybe the Romans, foresaw.
"No, well, we did," Kraczkowsky said. "We worked so hard.
"We wanted it so bad and I think that really showed. We focused on our serving because we can control that part of the game."
The Romans were always in control, though the Spartans pulled within 10-7 and 16-12 in Game 2. Each time, Kraczkowsky responded with a pair of kills.
Ashley Zulauf had 6 kills and Olivia Hojnicki and Katelyn Hanrahan added 3 each for St. Francis, which graduates eight seniors.
"It's never fun to not end a season going all the way, but I will say this has been my favorite team I've ever been on at St. Francis," the Tufts-bound Ward said. "Best season we've had in my four years and these are girls that I'm going to remember forever."