RIPON, Wis. – The Ripon volleyball team opened the Red Hawks Invitational on Friday evening, hosting Saint Mary's in the first of three consecutive home matches. The Red Hawks won the opening set 25-19, but the Cardinals stormed back to take the match by a final of 9-1. 
 
The two teams battled back and forth for the first half of the first set before an Inesha Wiseman kill capped a 4-0 Ripon run. The Red Hawks took their biggest lead of the day a few points later, when back-to-back ball handling errors helped the home team to a 21-14 edge that held up for the set win. 
 
The second set was another tight battle, as four different Red Hawks came away with kills before dropping the set 25-22. Saint Mary's took a 2-1 lead with their strongest set of the day in the third, and Ripon overcame a slow start to close out the fourth set with another close finish.  
 
Wiseman led the way offensively with a team-high 13 kills, while Lydia Ellis and Ellie Ove each turned in nine. Riley Nielsen picked up 32 assists, marking the fourth time this fall that she has cleared 30 in a match. She added 15 digs to round out the double-double, while Sam Thrasher's 23 digs was a team-best. 
 
The Red Hawks are back in action with back-to-back matches on Saturday, taking on Finlandia at 10 a.m. before wrapping up the weekend with Lakeland at noon.