By Pete Borello

Prep Volleyball Summary

Having won the Mitty Invitational three seasons running, St. Francis High coach Dave Gambelin was puzzled by the fact his team was seeded No. 2 at this year’s event.

“I don’t know why - they seeded it,” Gambelin said of host Mitty, which seeded itself No. 1. “But that’s OK because it was big time, extra motivation. It didn’t sit well with our girls.”

The Lancers responded by capturing the title for a fourth time, routing Mitty 15-11, 15-7, 15-8 in last Saturday’s final.

Middle blocker Diane Copenhagen and outside hitter Jessica Gysin recorded 17 and 16 kills, respectively, to lead St. Francis (14-1). Both players, along with outside hitter/setter Ashley Dutro, represented St. Francis on the all-tournament team.

“They were outstanding,” said Gambelin, who added that setter Christa Conom played her best match of the year against Mitty and right-side hitter Colby Lyman also performed well.

St. Francis went 4-0 in the two-day tournament, winning all its matches in straight games.

Earlier in the week, the Lancers improved to 5-0 in the SCVAL De Anza Division with a 15-1, 15-4, 15-5 dismantling of visiting Los Gatos. Gysin had 18 kills in the Oct. 2 match.

Titans take 4th in San Jose

Gunn came away from Saturday’s San Jose City Classic with fourth place, posting a 3-2 record in the 32-team tourney.

“We had a very good day,” coach Evan Barth said. “We finished ahead of Palo Alto, Monta Vista, Aptos, Harbor and some other good teams and we feel pretty good about that.”

After winning its first three matches to claim its bracket, Gunn (14-10) lost its final two. Santa Cruz beat the Titans 15-12, 15-12 in the semifinals and Notre Dame-Salinas came away with a 15-8, 15-3 win in the match for third place.

Michelle Rybka led Gunn with 32 kills for the day and Liz Johnson had 28. Sarah Walatka posted 85 assists.

Earlier in the week, the Titans handed Homestead its first SCVAL El Camino Division loss to earn a share of first place. Both teams are 5-1.

Gunn defeated the Mustangs 15-9, 11-15, 15-12, 15-12 Oct. 1 in Palo Alto. Rybka led Gunn with 18 kills, while Johnson and Audrey Milo added 14 and 12, respectively. Walatka recorded 45 assists, five kills and an ace.

Spartans earn 11th in SJ

Mountain View finished 11th in the San Jose City Classic, winning three of its four matches on Saturday.

After beating Branham and Aptos, the Spartans lost to Soquel, then bounced back to take care of Menlo-Atherton. All four matches went three games.

“I thought they played really well,” Mountain View coach Peter Kim said about his team. “They played hard all day long.”

Standouts for the Spartans (13-7) included Anna Carlstone, Kelsey Finkelstein and Marie Holston, according to Kim.