PLATTEVILLE, Wis. - The Ripon volleyball team continued to face some stiff competition during the second day of the UW-Platteville Tournament on Saturday. The Red Hawks dropped their first match of the morning 3-1 to Gustavus Adolphus, before losing to defending Midwest Conference champion Cornell 3-0.
Against Gustavus, Ripon won the first set 27-25, but lost the next three (16-25, 19-25, 20-25). The Red Hawks were led by
Allison Barnes' 15 kills, while
Emily Gary chipped in with nine kills and four blocks.
Katie Berrell and
Kat Kulas each added eight kills.
Abbi Williamson led the team in assists, with 42, while
Kendra Holte was the team leader in digs (14). Gustavus nearly doubled Ripon in total team blocks (11-6), while also holding the advantage in hitting percentage (.333-..248).
In Ripon's second game of the day, they faced a familiar foe in Cornell, which has won the MWC three consecutive years and was picked first in this year's MWC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Red Hawks gave them all they had in the first set, losing 23-25, before also dropping the next two by identical 18-25 scores. Ripon was led by Berrell's eight kills, while Barnes added seven. Williamson again led the team in assists with 18 and Holte added seven digs to go along with a team-high three service aces.
Maddie Koster led the team in digs, with 12. Cornell held a team blocking advantage of 11-3.
The Red Hawks will try to rebound next weekend when they'll take part in the UW-Stevens Point Tournament. They will battle Bethel (Minn.) and John Carroll on Friday at 3 and 5 p.m., respectively, in Stevens Point, Wis.
