St. Francis alum lead Justin-Siena to volleyball title

St. Francis Solano School alumni Melissa Castellucci, Katelynn Hayden and Emily Wirick helped lead the Justin-Siena High School girl’s varsity volleyball team to a North Coast Section Division IV championship win over St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School of Vallejo.

The Braves defeated the Bruins in four games with scores of 25-21, 25-23, 21-25 and 25-17 to earn the school’s first section championship in nine years.

Despite a 12-11 overall regular season record, the NCS No. 7 seeded Braves, coached by Tiffany Molinar, upset the No. 2 seeded Moreau Catholic and No. 3 seeded Healdsburg winning the final.

“We are a hard working group of girls who value teamwork,” said Sonoma native and team co-captain Emily Wirick. “We rely on each other to maintain momentum. Every player is important whether she is a bench player or a starter. Each individual brings something valuable to the team, both on and off the court.”

Castellucci and Wirick, both seniors, and Hayden, a junior, all started playing volleyball at St. Francis Solano School. “It’s great that we’ve been playing together for all of these years” Wirick said.

Pictured are, front row from left, kneeling: Teah Celestin; Nina Giaquinto; Kristen Wong; Alison Deming. Back row, standing: Claire Ballentine; Katelynn Hayden; Fiona Medaris; Melissa Castellucci; Emily Wirick; India Medaris; Samantha Glasson; Emma Schulman; Tania Jeramaz; and head coach Tiffany Molinar.