RIPON, Wisconsin — The Ripon volleyball program snapped its losing streak and split its home triangular on Saturday afternoon inside Weiske Gymnasium.
In the opener, Northland (6-10) defeated Ripon (7-16) by set scores of 24-26, 25-20, 25-16 and 25-20. In the final match of the day, the Red Hawks edged Maranatha Baptist (12-11) 25-18, 24-26, 25-22, 19-25, 15-10.
In the opener, the first set was back and forth as neither team held a lead greater than four points. The end of the set was a flurry of runs, as Ripon – down 20-17 – scored five consecutive points to take a 22-20 lead. Leading 23-21 after a kill by
Sophia Brinker, Northland rallied with three straight points to have their first set point of the day. The Red Hawks would counter, however, scoring the next three, highlighted by a
Haylee Kast kill, to claim the set.
Northland responded in a big way in set two. After a Lumberjill service error, an 8-0 Northland run put the Lumberjills up 10 at 13-3. Ripon would not lie down and went on a 5-0 spurt in the middle of the set to cut the deficit to 16-14. Three would be the closest Ripon would get the rest of the way as Northland won the set by five.
Similar to the previous set, Ripon found itself in a sizeable hole to open the frame as Northland took a 15-5 lead. Though a 5-0 run would trim Ripon's deficit to five (17-12), Northland held strong and won set four by nine points after a 4-0 run closed the stanza.
In the final frame, Ripon held five-point advantages six times, but a critical 7-0 Northland run put the Lumberjills up 21-18 and Ripon would not come closer than two points the rest of the set.
For the first time in 2023, four Red Hawks reached double-digits in kills:
Ellie Ove had 16, Brinker had 12,
Lydia Ellis had 11 and
Paris Croker had 10.
Emily Braun had another efficient outing as the setter, collecting 36 aces and 19 digs for her second double-double of the weekend. Also in double figures for digs were
Riley Nielsen (12),
Sam Thrasher (11),
Sam Differt (10) and
Bella Kasuboski (10).
Ripon had 59 kills on the afternoon, holding Northland to 52. The Lumberjills had more blocks (4-3) and a higher hitting percentage (.270 to .213) than Ripon, though service aces were even at 5.
In the afternoon finale, Ripon came out of the gates firing and a 5-0 run gave it a 12-7 lead. MBU cut the lead to three at 19-16 before Ripon scored six of the last eight points in the set to grab a 1-0 lead.
In set two, Maranatha Baptist never trailed after grabbing a 9-7 lead, though Ripon would tie the set a total of five times. Even at 24, the Sabercats got two consecutive kills from Kiarra Henkel to even the match at one apiece.
The third set was close throughout, as both teams had runs of at least three points. With Maranatha holding a 21-20 advantage, three consecutive points pulled Ripon ahead for good, winning the set by a close three-point margin.
Maranatha Baptist would not lie down in the fourth set, using a 6-0 spurt to gain a 16-12 advantage after trailing by two. Ripon would not get closer than two the rest of the frame as MBU won the set convincingly to force a deciding fifth – the first fifth set of the season for Ripon.
The Red Hawks would not be denied in the final ste of the day, going on a 5-0 run to gain an 8-3 lead after MBU tied the set at 3. Ripon's biggest lead of the set was 12-6, but the Sabercats countered with a 3-0 run. Eventually kills from Ove and Kast would give Ripon the overall match victory.
For the second consecutive game, Ripon had a trio of double-digit kill figures. Croker tied a career-high with 18, while Brinker had 15 and Ove had 10. Braun had her second 40-assist performance of the season, tallying 40 with just 7 errors. Defensively, four Red Hawks had double-digit digs: Thrasher (25 to tie a career-high), Braun (19 to tie a career-high from the Northland match), Nielsen (18) and Kasuboski (11).
Ripon had a season-high, 62-kill performance against MBU. The Red Hawks held the Sabercats to 46 kills. Each team had 10 aces, and Ripon had a slight 6-5 lead in blocks.
Ripon will be back in action on Saturday (October 21) as the Red Hawks continue Midwest Conference play against Knox. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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