RIPON, Wis. - Ripon's volleyball team kicked off their 2021 Ripon College Classic in style Friday afternoon with a five-set victory against Finlandia University. The Red Hawks would lose in three sets to a tough UW-La Crosse squad later in the day to split on the first day of the two-day Tournament.
Ripon (1-2) looked like it would get by Finlandia (1-1) with ease early on, winning the first two sets 25-14, 25-15. Finlandia was able to squeak out the next two sets by identical 25-23 scores to force a fifth and final set, which Ripon won 15-7.
The Red Hawks finished the match with 58 kills and a hitting percentage of .204, while Finlandia recorded 38 kills.
Inesha Wiseman led the way with 13 kills and a hitting percentage of .480, while
Kelly Kline recorded 10 kills with a hitting percentage of .267.
Lydia Ellis and
Arynn Mathieu each recorded eight kills.
Riley Nielsen led the team in assists with 22, while
Micaela Encarnacion's 24 digs were tops on the team.
Sam Thrasher posted four service aces to lead the way for the Red Hawks.
The day's second match didn't go as smoothly, as UW-La Crosse (3-0) won in straight sets, 25-8, 25-16, 25-12. Ripon recorded 11 kills in the match, while UW-La Crosse posted 46. Mathieu led Ripon with five kills, while Wiseman had four.
Riley Nielsen led the team with nine assists, while Encarnacion finished with 12 digs.
The Red Hawks will be in action again on Saturday when they'll finish up the 2021 Ripon College Classic with matches against Northland and Maranatha Baptist at Noon and 2 p.m., respectively.
