RIPON, Wis. - The Red Hawks volleyball team took their opponents to the limit on Friday's first day of the 2019 Ripon College Invitational, losing a pair of five-set matches. Ripon lost to Marian University 25-19, 14-25, 25-18, 21-25, 4-15 and to Carroll University 25-22, 16-25, 25-20, 22-25, 11-15.
In the day's first game, Marian (3-6) recorded a hitting percentage of .266, compared to Ripon's .136. The Red Hawks (2-7) were led by
Emily Allard's 17 kills and 12 digs.
Inesha Wiseman added 10 kills with a hitting percentage of .226, while
Lydia Ellis finished with six kills.
Ellie MacKenzie led the team in assists with 36, with
Micaela Encarnacion recording a team-best 23 digs.
Ripon followed that with another narrow loss to Carroll (7-4), as the Red Hawks tallied more kills than the Pioneers (61-54), despite the loss. Allard again led the team in kills, tying a career high with 20 kills, to go along with 16 digs. Ellis added 12 kills with a hitting percentage of .357, while
Brooke Bauer registered nine kills and a hitting percentage of .238. MacKenzie also notched a career-high with 51 assists, which is just three shy of the 10th-highest single match total in program history. Encarnacion again led the team in digs, with 27.
The Red Hawks will be in action again on Saturday when they'll host the second and final day of the 2019 Red Hawks Invitational. Ripon will play MSOE and Saint Mary's (Minn.) at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, in Weiske Gymnasium inside Willmore Center.
