By Pete Borello

The St. Francis High girls volleyball team is back atop the national rankings, and coach Kim Oden probably couldn’t care less.

“We’re not focused on being No. 1 now — it doesn’t matter,” the Lancers’ first-year coach said. “We just want to be No. 1 at the end of the season, and we’re working toward that goal.”

The Lancers took some giant steps in that direction last week. On Oct. 30 they got even with Mitty, the only team to beat them this season, with a 7-15, 15-3, 15-11, 15-6 West Catholic Athletic League home win.

Then over the weekend, St. Francis captured the Torrey Pines Tournament in La Jolla, beating Long Beach Wilson 14-16, 15-10, 15-8, 15-8 in the final.

Juniors Diane Copenhagen and Jessica Gysin starred for the Lancers on both occasions. Copenhagen had 11 kills, 11 digs and eight blocks vs. Mitty, then played so well in La Jolla she was named tournament MVP.

Gysin had 13 kills and 23 digs in the Mitty match and was named to the all-tournament team at Torrey Pines.

St. Francis (24-1) plays in the WCAL Tournament this week.

Eagles snare second

Los Altos locked up second place in the SCVAL De Anza Division Oct. 30 with a 15-12, 15-2, 15-7 home win over Monta Vista.

“We just dominated every aspect,” Los Altos coach Dave Winn said. “We served well, passed well and hit smart shots.”

Last time the two teams met, Los Altos needed five games to beat the Matadors (6-4, 20-10).

A lot has changed since that Oct. 9 match, according to Winn.

“We’ve got that killer instinct now.” he said, “and I love that.”

Ashley Watson posted eight kills for the Eagles (9-2, 21-11) in last week’s contest. Juli Winterbotham and Lauren Schaefer had seven kills each and Allie Miller contributed five kills, with no hitting errors. Michelle Nelson recorded 29 assists.

Two days earlier, Los Altos prevailed 15-10, 15-5, 14-16, 15-5 at Palo Alto. Winterbotham led the attack with 13 kills, followed by Andrea Cummings and Miller with eight each. Miller also made seven aces and eight digs. Nelson had 39 assists.

Nelson also had an incredible day at the Oct. 26 Presentation Tournament, where Los Altos won the Silver Division. The sophomore compiled 116 assists on 316 attempts and four aces.

“She’s a workhorse for our offense and there’s no way we’d be as good as we are without her dedication,” Winn said.

Los Altos hosts Gunn at 6:45 p.m., Thursday, to conclude league play.

Spartans stun Gunn

Mountain View made the most of Senior Night, closing its home schedule with a five-game win over Gunn.

The Spartans prevailed 15-7, 16-14, 12-15, 11-15, 15-7 on Oct. 30 against a Gunn team that beat them in straight games earlier this season.

“It was nice to get a league win,” said Mountain View coach Gerrie Phillips, whose team improved to 2-9 in the De Anza Division, 11-20 overall. “I kept telling the girls that we are just as good as some of the teams we come up against and sooner or later we are going to get a victory. It was great to finally have it happen.”

Said Gunn coach Evan Barth: “Mountain View played spirited volleyball last night and they pushed hard to win for their seniors.”

Erin McConnell paced Mountain View with 14 kills, while Sariah Alcaraz and Colleen Nicholls added 12 each. Phillips said “Colleen Schumacher was a digging machine” with 26. She also had 12 kills and two aces.

Elizabeth Johnson led Gunn (3-7, 15-17) with 11 kills.

The Spartans ended their season Tuesday at Palo Alto.

Pinewood sweeps

Pinewood cruised to a 15-0, 15-4, 15-2 Private Schools Athletic League win last Friday at St. Lawrence. Julie Nakamoto (7 kills) and Anna Tracy (7 aces) paced the Panthers.

Pinewood (5-3, 6-8) concludes its PSAL schedule Friday at 5 p.m. at Fremont Christian.