NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The Ripon volleyball team opened Saturday's North Central (Ill.) Triangular with a three-set loss to the host school, but ended the day on a positive note with a four-set victory against Illinois Tech.
Against North Central (9-5), Ripon lost 25-14, 25-18, 25-19 in a match that featured 10 ties and five lead changes. The Red Hawks finished with a hitting percentage of .202, while the Cardinals posted a hitting percentage of .348.
Paige Buddenhagen led Ripon with nine kills, while
Katie Berrell and
Kat Kulas finished with eight and seven kills, respectively.
Abbi Williamson posted a match-high 24 assists in a return to her hometown, while
Maddie Koster led the Red Hawks with 12 digs.
In Ripon's second match of the day, the Red Hawks took the first two sets 25-11 and 25-15, before losing the third 21-25, and putting the match away with a 25-13 victory in the fourth set. Berrell led all players with 13 kills, while
Jonalee Elliott posted a career-high 12 kills. Kulas and  Buddenhagen each finished with 11 kills, while Williamson recorded 33 assists. Koster and
Brianna Rizzuto each added 12 digs to lead the team.
The Red Hawks (10-5) will now get ready for conference season to begin, as they will next be in action Friday at Lake Forest College. That match will begin at 7 p.m. in Lake Forest, Ill. and can be seen live atÂ
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.
