RIPON, Wis. - The Ripon volleyball team lost both of their matches Friday during the opening day of the 2015 Red Hawks Invitational. The Red Hawks began the day with a four set loss to St. Kate's, before ending the day with a grueling five set loss to UW-River Falls.

Against St. Kate's (6-3), Ripon lost 17-25, 20-25, 25-20, 20-25, despite recording six more kills (53-47). The Red Hawks (2-10) were led by Katie Berrell's 15 kills, 10 digs, and three blocks. Paige Buddenhagen added 11 kills, while Emily Gary posted 10 kills and three blocks (one solo). Abbi Williamson led the team with 40 assists, while Stacie Klika recorded a team-high 14 digs.

In their second match of the day, Ripon won the first two sets by identical 25-23 scores, but went on to drop the next three, 20-25, 23-25, and 8-15. Ripon again recorded more kills (67-66), while also registering more assists and digs. Berrell led the Red Hawks in kills, with 18, while Buddenhagen finished with 15 and Kat Kulas and Gary recorded 11 and 10, respectively. Berrell also finished with a team-best hitting percentage of .349. Williamson racked up 52 assists on the night, just five shy of her career high. Klika led the team with 25 digs, while Williamson and Courtney Bloomer each finished with 20 digs.

The Red Hawks will conclude the Red Hawks Invitational on Saturday when they'll battle St. Norbert and St. Mary's (Minn.) at Noon and 2 p.m., respectively.
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