DE PERE, Wisconsin — The Ripon volleyball program stepped back out of conference play on Tuesday night, dropping a pair of matches to Marian and St. Norbert at the Mulva Family Fitness and Sports Center.
 
In Ripon's first match of the triangular, the Red Hawks fell in three sets to Marian (25-23, 25-16, 25-13). In the nightcap against St. Norbert, the Green Knights were victorious in four sets by scores of 25-19, 25-22, 23-25 and 25-11.
 
Against Marian (10-7), the teams went back-and-forth in the opening frame. There were nine ties in the first set, and neither team held a lead greater than four. With Marian nursing a 22-20 lead, a Paris Croker kill and a Sabre attack error knotted the match up at 22. Tied at 23, Ripon (6-13) surrendered back-to-back points as the tight first set went to Marian.
 
Set two was controlled by Marian throughout. Once tied 6-6, Marian scored eight of the next nine points to open a 14-7 advantage. From there, the Red Hawks would not get closer than six as the Sabres won the set by nine.
 
Set three was all Sabres once again, as Marian raced out to a 13-7 lead, prompting Ripon's first timeout of the set. From there, the margin grew to 11 at 20-9 before Ripon called its final timeout of the match. Marian put the set and the match away soon after, winning set three by 12.
 
Ellie Ove led the offensive attack with 6 kills, while Emily Braun had 12 assists. Defensively, Sam Thrasher had 7 digs.
 
Marian had 37 kills to Ripon's 20.
 
Against St. Norbert (10-10), Ripon trailed in the early going but kept within striking distance. Over halfway through the first set, the Red Hawks finally took their first lead at 16-15 after an ace by Thrasher. With Ripon holding a tight 18-17 lead, SNC pulled ahead with four consecutive points to lead 21-18. Ripon would not get closer than two the remainder of the set as SNC claimed a close opening frame.
 
After SNC scored the first point of set two, Ripon controlled the opening half of the frame, leading 12-8 before the Green Knights came clawing back. With the set tied at 14 apiece, SNC ripped off a 7-0 run to lead 21-14. Though the Red Hawks made a charge at the end of the set and only found themselves down 21-20, the rally wouldn't be enough as St. Norbert gained a 2-0 advantage in the match.

Neither team held more than a one-point lead in the third set until SNC led 9-7. Tied at 9, a 6-0 Green Knights spurt put Ripon in a 15-9 hole. However, Ripon would not go away. An impressive 9-0 run gave the Red Hawks a 19-18 advantage, and a late 5-0 run – with the help of four consecutive kills by Croker – gave Ripon an opportunity to play a fourth set.
 
With the teams tied at 7 apiece in the fourth set, SNC pulled away with a 15-4 run to claim the set and the match in convincing fashion.
 
Croker paced the squad with 12 kills on 32 swings. Braun had another solid outing distributing the ball, collecting 29 assists. Riley Nielsen led Ripon with 14 digs, while Thrasher (11) and Sam Differt (11) were also in double figures.
 
Sophia Brinker chipped in 3 blocks for the Red Hawks, who out-blocked SNC 6-3.
 
Ripon stays on the road this weekend, heading to #25 Cornell College on Saturday (October 7) for a 1 p.m. match in Mount Vernon.
 
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